


Enemy of Betrayal

by alixnqveen



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Character Death, Everyone Bullies Atsumu, Fantasy, Fox Spirit!Inarizaki, Human!Sakusa, Lowkey Crime Mystery? More Likely Than You Think, M/M, Mild Gore, Minor Original Character(s), Mystery, Mysticism, Seperated POV, Slow Burn, Spirit World, Spirits, lowkey background Osamu/Suna
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:16:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 44,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27140965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alixnqveen/pseuds/alixnqveen
Summary: A member of the mystical directorate has fallen ill, rabid foxes are going wild in the human world, and now attacks are being launched on Inarizaki as a guild - someone, or something, is out to wreck havoc in the world beyond the veil. The only issue is this force is within the walls, and everyone is on edge. Especially Atsumu, part of the twin spirit duo who grant luck and otherwise cause mischief among the humans. When Atsumu comes across a peculiar human who may know something of what's going on, at what point is he willing to push on ahead to take matters into his own hands? It's no wonder he nearly broke the very balance that kept the two worlds apart.Fingers are being pointed quicker than anyone can keep up, and Atsumu doesn't know the extent of his loyalty to his Guild, his family. Doubt wriggles in the most unexpected ways, and he isn't sure who he can trust but himself. He'll go along and work back home for now - but making his way back to Sakusa Kiyoomi may be the key to solving everything. But at what cost?
Relationships: Miya Atsumu & Miya Osamu, Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Comments: 29
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

The space between reality and myth is too thin, whether it be for better or worse. The lives of humans go on day by day, so blissfully unaware of the eyes of those who watch them from the heavens, or the spirit realm, or whatever way you wish to describe it. They love, and laugh, and cry, and feel pain, and celebrate success, all without truly knowing of the land beyond their immediate consciousness. Some have tried to find it - some dedicate their lives to searching and understanding as much as they can of the incredible. But those beyond the veil only let the humans see what they want to. _They_ are the authors of this narrative. They are not all knowing nor are they absolute; not all are mischievous or malevolent beings, though it’s certain not all are pillars of grace and virtue. 

Nobody really knows what to call this world, the one that transcends reality - though I suppose it can be considered in the sphere of reality as well. The ones who inhabit it are not passed souls who’ve made their way to God or some higher power beyond death, though not all of them are entirely alive. Some have had human lives, some are manifestations of values like good or evil, black or white, pure or damned, and some are simply messengers and beings with the purpose of making their ways into human lives on their own accord. 

There are some, however, that are forever outcast from this land. They are the pariahs of the mystical society beyond the veil. While it’s uncertain where exactly they go, these individuals have committed acts of evil that surpass the necessary amount. Every world has an evil aspect, it’s simply the trade off as all things must have. These spirits, though, are bent on overtaking the world beyond the veil for their own malicious pursuits, some aiming to ruin and destroy the human realm and some aiming to rule it in their quest of greed and power. The world beyond the veil has come together to fight and reason many battles and arguments from these spirits, ensuring their influence stays behind the walls. Based on the rules, it’s impossible for them to cross the borders - no matter how much they try, no matter how powerful they are, it is impossible for them to die as a form of absolute punishment. They shall not act on their desires and their goals shall not be achieved. At least that’s how it’s supposed to be.

They cannot pass, but that does not stop them from living. It does not stop them from talking. _C’mere, boy_ , they say to the appointed guards stationed at the gates. _At least let an old geezer tell ya a story_. Unfortunately, now and again some of the weakest of minds and principles give in to the calls of the demons. Some go mad in their conflicting mindsets and eventually kill themselves, some become outcast spirits too and join the pool of rotting bones outside the gates they were told to protect. Some have the fortitude to disregard these words and stories and pay no mind ever again. Some - the few with ambition and drive to live for themselves no matter the standpoint - some of them go back to their normal duties in silence. They shift out of their position for the night and think. They think and they overthink and question and rationalize. And they act, but not in the same way the damned spirits do, with violence and outrage. No, they learned from the mistakes of their harbingers. These individuals talk, and they recruit, spreading the ideals and the words of the ones behind the walls. And before anyone knows it, even a few of those magnificent creatures beyond the veil are acting no more secretive and conspiratory than the humans. We really are no better or less vulnerable than they are. Not to be entirely pessimistic, but it’s no wonder we all are doomed to crash and burn, either side of the veil. It’s almost sad.

In the midst of this unease is where we find the ones who have sparked my interest the most. Despite the rumors and the hushed discussion, these two pay no mind. Well, one of them doesn’t. The other one takes slight concern, but he isn’t living in a state of fear like others may be.

“It’s all speculation anyway,” one hummed, his arms held out from his sides as he took careful steps along the edge of the wall. His tail swayed in the still air, almost unconsciously, making him stop to regain the balance. “Not like anyone’s gonna do anythin’ about it.”

The other one, who walked with his brother along the path next to the wall, rolled his eyes with a twitch of his right ear, “Sure, but if it _is_ true-”

“My word, ‘Samu, since when were ya one to care about this stuff?” the first barked a chuckle, a sharp-toothed grin upon his lips. “Shit like this has been around for ages now, and nothin’ ever happens!”

Osamu, the brother on the ground, frowned. He smacked the wall with his fist, shaking the cement in his wake. The one atop the wall almost yelped, attempting to stay up on one foot. He carefully placed a solid foot down before he could fall, readjusting his stance, and throwing a dirty look at his brother down below. Osamu continued on like nothing had happened, “Well, ‘ _Tsumu_ , it sounds legit this time. Since when has a member of the directorate fallen ill for this long? I mean there’s reason to think about outside influence. I can see why people are considering leaving.”

“And where exactly do these people think they could go? Man, you’re so gullible!” Atsumu tensed himself for another lash from Osamu as he spoke. “And you think I’m the dumber twin.”

“You are, idiot,” said Osamu, arms crossed and gaze unchangingly flat.

Atsumu shrugged, “At least I’m not gettin’ conspiracies from Sunarin.”

“Suna just told me the basics of what people were saying,” Osamu’s tail swished sharply. “Not like either of us believe ‘em.”

Chuckling, Atsumu looked down with a smile growing from cheek to cheek, “Well it really sounds like ya do! What was all that talk about ‘outside influence’ or whatever?”

Osamu huffed a sigh, exasperated, “I was just tryna explain why people’d be on board with these rumors. Sometimes you gotta consider things before throwin’ them out immediately.”

“Sounds boring.”

“Sounds like you lack critical thinking.”

“Rude!”

They walked in silence again, instead listening to the sounds of the forest beside them. It whispered with quiet wishes and secrets of those who couldn’t tell them. That forest was where new spirits were born, and it was the place where Atsumu and Osamu first awoke together. It was the place Kita found them, explained what they were, where they were, and that everything would be fine. The words of reassurance were for not - neither twin was afraid. In fact, instead of crying or panicking, the first thing out of Osamu’s mouth was “I’m hungry”, with Atsumu nodding quickly in agreement. How interesting is it? The fearlessness of these fox twins, the lack of care for what’s happening around them except the present? I’ve never seen anything like it, and Kita surely hadn’t. One could say it was frightening how unfrightened they were, and still are.

It had been 1800 years since then, and in that time the twins had grown into fine young men. They were spirits of mischief, but the humans seemed to catch on to the idea that they could be granted with luck or good fortune if they pray to the twins with offerings of food. They even played a part in giving natural-born talent to a few individuals, if they got bored. Random and sometimes wild was their style. Most of the time, they simply watched the lives of humans throughout Japan, doing small things just to see what would happen, making it a competition to eat the most of their offerings the fastest, forming opinions on and taking mild interest in specific humans that made them laugh. It’s not that they didn’t take their job seriously - they simply had fun as they did it. Constantly pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable, as well, which landed them under Kita’s sharp gaze more than a few times. 

I can only imagine how Kita was feeling when Atsumu nearly ruined the delicate balance between humans and spirits that one day.

Osamu was the one to open the large doors into the Inarizaki Hall, leaving Atsumu to swagger in like he hadn’t a care in the world. From what I know, he really didn’t. “Good mornin’, everyone!” he called as his brother closed the doors behind them.

“Shut up,” Suna’s disinterested voice snapped back from his chair at the front of the large room.

“It’s always a pleasure seeing you too, Suna,” Atsumu said tightly while Osamu chuckled. 

Suna only glanced up over his book for a few seconds before looking back in silence. The fox ears upon Atsumu’s ears twitched in frustration, but he quickly moved on as he continued into the hall. Osamu followed behind, patting his brother’s shoulder, “Sucks to suck.”

“Ah, shaddup.”

The Inarizaki Guild Hall didn’t leave much to be desired - it was only one room, but it was a huge room at that. The ceilings were high, and a handful of candle-lit chandeliers hung from them, giving the space an orange glow. The walls often creaked and the wind often whispered through shutters, but nonetheless the place was like a second home to everybody there. The sounds did not harm the mystical aura whatsoever; in fact, I’d argue it added to it. The floors were lined with rich stones and glorious carpets, made of fabric so clearly fit for gods. On the walls hung dark red banners, sacred depictions of each and every member. Atsumu liked to think his stood out the most given his head of blonde hair, but nonetheless it didn’t matter because at least his looked better than Osamu’s. At the far end of the room facing the large doors were chairs made of stone, each carved to a representation of the owner. They stood tall and mighty, even glowed under the skylight that opened up above them. Even now they almost sent a thrill of awe down Atsumu’s spine.

“Atsumu!” Both twins stopped to watch Ginjima step up to them, his tail stiff and clearly angry. 

Atsumu swallowed, in an instant thinking through all the things he did recently that could’ve made Ginjima mad, “Uh, yes?”

Ginjima put his hands on his hips once he finally reached the two of them, frowning with annoyance, “Did you seriously hafta put all yer luck into that Tsuki-oni team the other day?”

“You mean the football team?” Osamu asked, tilting his head.

“Yes, in Nagoya,” Ginjima’s foot tapped impatiently. “I got a wish from a member of the other team that this time he’d do well and impress his father, but because ya totally cranked up the other team’s chance of winnin’, he lost!”

Lifting a hand to the back of his head, Atsumu smiled with a bit of relief, “Oops! Sorry!”

Ginjima blinked, his foot taps falling quiet. There were a few seconds of silence before he asked, “ _Oops_? Dude! Ya can’t just go around putting a shit ton of luck in every little thing! That’s not how this works, and you know that.”

“What, it’s not like it hurts anythin’!” Atsumu defended, putting his arms up innocently. “Besides, what’s the point of focusing so heavily on one human’s happiness? Humans are gonna get sad about the most meaningless things no matter what we do.”

“It doesn’t hurt anything, does it?” said Ginjima in a darker tone. “That kid I was talking about? After that game when he went home, he was beat by his father.”

Both twins couldn’t speak under the sudden smack of information. Even Suna looked up from his book again after Ginjima’s words. The lazy morning energy had gone chill with tension, if only briefly. Throwing a glance at his brother, Osamu opened his mouth to speak, but Atsumu said before he could, a bit quieter than before, “So what? Humans are gonna have bad things happen to them, some worse than others. We can’t stop everythin’, y’know. If the kid’s dad is a deadbeat then that’s not my fault. Talk to the Fates about that one.”

Atsumu continued on his walk to his chair leaving his brother in his tracks. He waved his hand about carelessly as he reasoned, “Who cares? Genocide happens, and slavery and murder and drug overdose and crimes and all the bad things you can think of. That kid didn’t talk to me, so why should I care too much what happens?”

Osamu sighed, rubbing his face, while Ginjima’s eyes had gone wide in shock. “Come again?! Atsumu, your job is to care for humans and lead them on the right path-”

“No, my job is to care for the humans who call on me and carry out the requests as much as I can.” He reached his chair, turning around to sit as he smiled a bit, “Look, I’m sorry that kid got the burnt end of the stick, I really am, but I can’t do anythin’ about it. The Fates spun that kid to have a shitty dad, and that dad to be a piece ‘a shit. He didn’t beat his kid because of a lost football game, he beat his kid because he’s scum, and luck has nothin’ to do with that.”

He had a point and everyone knew it, and Atsumu knew everyone knew it. Ginjima looked downtrodden, letting a breath out of his nose like a sigh. Without a word, Osamu followed his brother’s lead and went to his chair, though not without a sharp glare directed at him. Ginjima didn’t have anything else to say in argument, instead he walked away to one of the tables stationed on the side of the room with a strange look on his face.

“Now ya done it, ya drip,” Osamu muttered, laying his head in his hand.

Atsumu turned to him, “What?”

“You made Gin sad,” Suna spoke up, already more interested in his book. “Way to go.”

“I didn’t mean to!” he huffed. Atsumu crossed his arms, lifting one of his feet up and tucking it underneath him comfortably, “Just sayin’ what was on my mind.”

Osamu tapped a finger against his head, staring forward, “You really have no empathy.”

“I must've missed it on the job description, my bad.”

Suna hummed, unimpressed. “Hopefully ‘asshole’ doesn't run in the family.”

“It doesn't, it’s just him,” Osamu replied.

With an indignant huff, Atsumu reached out to smack his brother’s shoulder, “Jeez, you guys are so mean!”

“You deserve it.”

“What Osamu said.”

“Leave me alone!” Atsumu rolled his eyes, mumbling under his breath, “Not my fault Gin’s so attached to humans. When’s he gonna learn they’re just burdens unto themselves? At least I know when to call a dumb human a dumb human.” Neither Osamu nor Suna had a response to that.

The Inarizaki Guild of the land was an eccentric bunch to say the least. Suna was a man with bright red markings on his face, lines below and horizontal to his thin, sharp eyes, and the ends of his hair and the tops of his fox ears were dyed blood red. For such an eye-catching fellow, he wasn't one to talk all that much, instead kept to himself as he read book after book. Not in a pursuit of knowledge, necessarily, but more of a way to keep himself occupied from the shenanigans of the twins. He was a spirit of dreams, able to enter, alter, and communicate through the dreams of any human or spirit alike. Ginjima, on the other hand, was definitely a contender for one of the loudest of the group. With curly ash blonde hair and a voice that seemed mildly perturbed no matter how he spoke, Ginjima was a spirit of wishes and hopes. He could control and help assist humans in their successes and whatever ambitions they had. He was a symbol of victory as well as loss. Sometimes he had to put humans through failure to teach them how to succeed. 

And sometimes, in the case of his grudge with Atsumu that morning, other factors overpowered his abilities no matter how hard he tried, since in all cases, the absolute is the human themself. The humans had free will, and they had their own skills and traits. The Fates knew how the lives of every person started and how they ended, what hand they were given in their life to deal with. With a power like Ginjima’s, if the human did not have the aptitude to succeed or if their goals were dastardly and they still could access what they wanted, nothing could be done. The human race, while affected daily by the world beyond the veil, were still a functioning, independent society, and in the end, they could reject influence from the mystical spirits. It’s almost paradoxical how heavily the prosperity of humans rested on the existence of the world beyond the veil and yet they still had so much free will and ability that sometimes they could garner the spirits useless in their own demise. Ginjima was one of the easiest of the spirits to overpower, often leaving his influence null and void. I almost feel bad for the kid.

It didn't take too long for the other members to file in that morning. Each one stepped up to their seats, the older spirits in the higher part of the arrangement in the back and the newer ones closer to the floor. Facing them atop the small stage a meter or two from the rows of stone chairs stood Master Kurosu and his apprentice, Kita. Their master was graced with the status symbol of nine fox tails behind him, though old Kurosu’s tails weren’t nearly as bushy and soft as Kita’s one. Kita observed the members before him with the grace of one whose emotions and thoughts were locked away securely from any onlooker. His eyes were sharp, calculating, though just the same were they innocent and kind. It was no wonder the esteemed Kurosu, the spirit having lived for ages upon ages, had taken Kita as his runner up, imparting on him the knowledge and skills necessary to when he eventually led the guild. 

Before the daily ceremony began, Atsumu spotted Ginjima making his way back to the front of the room. With a now-determined expression, he sat down on the other side of Suna promptly, and Atsumu almost smiled to see him getting over his hangups. 

“Hey, ‘Samu,” he leaned over to his brother as his eyes rested on Ginjima a bit longer.

“Yeah, ‘Tsumu?” Osamu dully answered back.

Atsumu brought his gaze forward again, “What’re we gonna do today?”

Tapping his chin a few times in thought, Osamu took a few seconds to respond. “Not sure. Any ideas?”

“Well since we were in Nagoya the other day, maybe we can head to Tokyo this time around?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Just then, Kurosu smacked his long, sturdy wood staff against the ground, calling quick attention to the guild before them. He spoke, low and authoritative as he always did, “Guild by name of Inarizaki, I welcome you to the heart of your purpose. We shall begin the transfer from this world to the next as the sacred land of Japan awakes with the risin’ sun. Kita, go right ahead.”

Kita stepped forward, lifting his arms before him, “Close your eyes, and may your breath be gentle and your heart unbroken.” It wasn’t a necessary direction; almost every member there has done the same routine everyday for hundreds of years. And yet, at least to the Miya twins, with their ears perked and their bushy tails still with anticipation, the feeling never got old. It started from their feet, a warm sensation, much like stepping into melted chocolate. Beneath their eyelids was a flash of light, and oh, how badly Atsumu wanted to open his eyes to see how brilliantly the light shone. He knew too well that if he did, his eyes would burn and he would be unable to see. It was almost frustrating how delicate were the eyes of spirits beyond the veil, no better than the flesh sacks of humans, Atsumu had once bitterly commented.

As Kita spoke the sacred ritual - one that I cannot share, or I shall be thrown behind the walls as soon as it leaves my throat - the goopy, almost comforting warmth rose, filtering through their legs, all the way up their torsos, up and around their arms and fingers, and spreading all over their faces. Nothing beat it, like being wrapped in the warmest blanket from head to toe on a chilly morning. Repetitiveness was boring, but this was one thing the twins wouldn’t mind doing for millennia to come.

There is one part of the ritual I may share, and that would be the final words of the chant. While the members roosted in their cocoons of pleasantness, Kita said loud and clear above the buzzing in their ears, “With the swish of a fox tail, we are one. The past trembles as the future marches on, unafraid. _Spiritus vulpes_.”

Like the flick of a switch or the snap of your fingers, everything went silent. Away went the zing of the ritual, away went the almost overwhelming warmth, away went the flashes of red light that filtered through their eyelids. Atsumu blinked open his eyes, still feeling energized despite the disappearance of the magic. There he floated midair, overlooking the land as it twinkled with lights in the early morning darkness. He took in a deep breath, even if he couldn’t really taste the biting air. All the way from there he could hear and feel the energy of those who had called on them in their absence, and even from there he could smell the food offerings as they sat on shrines or by bedsides. Stretching his neck a few times, he asked, “To Tokyo we go?”

“If ya want,” said his brother, arms crossed as he too studied the brilliant glow of the city lights as far as the eye could see.

“Hey, do you wanna split up or something?” Atsumu stretched out his arms over his chest. “Maybe we could get more people answered if we do.”

Osamu stared on blankly, “Well sure, but our p-”

“Our powers won’t be as strong, I know, I know.” He did a backflip midair, almost floating away from his brother. He allowed the momentum to carry him as he crossed his legs and put his arms behind his head like a human would sun themselves. Atsumu smirked at his brother, “I bet I can get more people answered than you, scrub.”

Osamu brought his gaze to his brother, still an even expression upon his features. He then said, with a slight twitch of his eyebrows, “You’re on.”

With a laugh, Atsumu wasted no time. He zipped to the land below in killer speed, a speed even the humans couldn’t reach, leaving his brother in the dust. Landed in an apartment complex neighborhood, Atsumu stilled while he listened to the calls around the various homes, like twinkles of bells in his ears. And thus, with a confident grin and a deep breath, he got to work.

Each home was something different, and he was definitely more helpful to those who offered food. This girl wanted luck on her calculus test that morning, offering a handful carrots. Another woman asked for luck at her divorce hearing, and Atsumu couldn’t help but laugh as he read the little note she placed under her plate of rice balls she planned to eat in the morning. “Let’s hope I can put that nasty son of a bitch in his place,” Atsumu read aloud as he munched on the snack. “Damn, I wanna know the story behind that one.” He ended up infusing her with a bit more luck than usual.

This man wished for help on his job interview, this girl wished for help on asking out her crush, this boy wished for help on completing a level in the video game he’s had so much trouble with. Atsumu hopped room to room, granting luck in each person as he saw fit. The sun was rising and people began waking up, but Atsumu paid no mind at all - they couldn’t see him anyway. 

When he came across a pair of twins slumbered away in their bunk beds, Atsumu couldn’t help but stay a little longer. He read their shared wish; good luck in their final exams for a class they took together. His gaze flicked up, watching the one on top with the blanket pulled all the way to his nose and the other one with his arms and legs splayed about as they slept. Placing the note back down, he carefully stepped up to them, analyzing their faces again and again. They were identical, and they even wore matching pajamas. Atsumu pondered if he and Osamu would be like them if they were human. They were younger than Atsumu looked - physically he was 22, but they seemed about 16 or 17.

He smiled a bit, “You both relying on luck and not studying? Pathetic.” He gave them the same amount of luck he’d give anyone else. They didn’t need luck; if they wanted to succeed, it’s all got to do with them. “Consider this a favor,” he spoke softly as he stepped through the walls, finishing up the last of the pretzel bites he was offered.

Atsumu made a mental note to ask Osamu if he’d consider wearing matching pajamas if they were humans while he floated around the apartment complex some more. All the little tinkles went quiet, it appeared. Meaning he got everything done here in less than an hour. He grinned, ready to brag to his brother. But before he could zip away to another neighborhood, a new sound alerted him. He turned to look over his shoulder, feeling the energy of a new wish being asked. _Right on time_ , he commented in his head.

Floating his way over a few buildings, he reached the home of this new wisher. When he entered the walls, he was hit with the tangy smell of cleaning supplies. He sniffed again, frowning, as he noted how orderly everything inside the house looked. Not an object out of place, with bare furniture and a minimalistic kind of vibe. His ears perked up when he heard the muffled voice through the hallway, and instead of charging right through the home, Atsumu took the time to analyze as much as he could in mild interest at the emptiness of it all. Strange, in his eyes, but not entirely unusual. Whoever this human was, they were quite particular about their environment. 

He phased through the door of the main room, curiously peeking his head in. Sat on the pristinely made bed was a young man, with curly black hair, very dark eyes, and a well-kept suit. The man was scribbling on a piece of paper that he’d placed on a briefcase on his lap, thought lacing his steady brow as he did so. Atsumu gently stepped forward, gaze flicking between his hands and his face as he wrote. He almost jumped as the man suddenly scoffed quietly to himself, loudly crossing out whatever was on the paper. He lifted his head up, sighing in frustration through his nose. Sitting like that for a good few seconds, the man took up his pen again, quickly and confidently writing out a short passage, before abruptly crumpling it up. He stood, crossing the space to a bin beside his desk and depositing the paper. The twinkling sound of the wish had gone out completely with the action.

Even if he didn’t need to, Atsumu stepped to the side as the man promptly and apathetically strode to the door, opening and closing it with punctual haste. “Well okay then,” Atsumu muttered after him.

He made his way to the bin, picking up the crumpled paper with pure curiousness alight in his slitted gaze. Flattening it out, he saw sentence after sentence started and crossed out, each beginning with “I wish for luck-” or “I want to pa-” or even “I don’t really know what-”. It was the last thing he wrote, nearer to the bottom of the page, that simply spelled out, “I refuse to believe in luck.”

Atsumu stared at it longer than necessary. Perhaps it was the shortness of the phrase, perhaps the aloof judgement that filtered through the words, or perhaps because he was bored and wanted to find a reason to be upset - Atsumu glared down at the paper, shocked at the frankness of this man’s words. “Fuck you too, asshole,” he spoke to no one who could hear as he tossed the note back where it came from.

He marched through the walls of the apartment in search of him, his tail irritably flicking about. Just as the man was shutting the front door of his home on his way out, Atsumu stood behind him on the balcony with a clear glare across his features. “You know, maybe if you weren’t so stuck up, I’d be nice and help ya with… whatever it was you needed,” he lectured the man as he locked the door. “But y’know, sometimes bein’ so close minded that ya… hey! I was talkin’ to you!”

The man had turned and began his trek outside the apartment complex, paying no mind at all to the scolding spirit. Atsumu knew full well he couldn’t hear him, but it was entertaining and almost therapeutic to get it all out anyway. With a determined huff, Atsumu went along too as the man reached the stairs, floating just by his head as he went.

“And you know, you humans are always so stupid. Even the brightest among ya are so gullible and self-glorifying,” Atsumu ranted. The man walked along with no knowledge of the spirit who followed. “If I were you, I’d stop acting like yer on some moral high horse because you think you ain’t gullible enough for the concept of luck. Luck! Everyone believes in luck, dipshit!”

The man had reached his car, getting in quickly and starting it up right away. Atsumu hung around, phasing through the metal to get comfortable in his passenger seat. He continued on as the man pulled out of the parking spot, “If I was human, I simply wouldn’t be such a judgemental dickface. How can you go along in your life thinking _everything_ is up to you, I mean haven’t ya heard of coincidence? Karma?”

Almost as if he wanted to tune him out, the man turned on the radio absentmindedly, interrupting Atsumu’s point. He scoffed a laugh, “Don’t try to silence me, you menial human! Listen, buddy, life’s hard, I know, it sucks. But yer life is so infinitesimally meaningless and small that even if you’re the most horrendous bastard alive, nobody will give a shit eventually! So spice it up, friend, believe in magic. Keep me in business, right?”

The man didn’t answer, of course. But Atsumu nodded once, smiling to himself, “Right.”

He paused, evidently finished with his speech, and he watched the cars pass by the windshield as his grin began fading. Atsumu turned to look at the human, a more sober way about his expression now that the petty anger had passed. He took in the image of him; the way his black curls swooped to the side in a pleasing way, the way his jaw was set indifferently, the way his features were sharp and cold. Atsumu almost couldn’t look away. Smiling as he stared, he commented quietly, “You humans are lucky you’re pretty cute sometimes.”

Atsumu didn’t know why he stuck around with this human. It was most likely the curiosity about this human that kept him seated in that car. He knew next to nothing about this mysterious, handsome stranger, and with an introduction such as a direct refusal of everything Atsumu represented, there was an urge within him to find out more. I truly do ponder what would've happened if Atsumu had moved on from that car and finished up his wishes, had he paid as little mind to the human as he did anyone else. But… ah, what is it you humans say? The past is in the past.

In Atsumu’s eyes, humans were mindless, unnecessarily cruel, and self-righteous canon fodder at the hands of each other; but even he could admit his daily duties were boring if he didn’t at least poke a bit more now and again. Ever since he was a cub, he had a fascination with the human species. Nearly never before, though, had any truly impressed him.

The man was stopped at a light when his cell phone went off. Atsumu watched as he picked it up, analyzing the way his long hands held it. He answered the call, putting it on speaker mode, “What do you want?”

“Sakusa!” a concerned voice spoke through the phone. “I heard Takashi-san called you into a meeting today. What’s it about?”

The man - Sakusa, apparently - sighed quietly, his shoulders dipping. “I don’t know,” he said, flat and almost harsh.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Atsumu lifted his chin with a wide grin, musing, “Ah, you don’t sound so sure, Sakusa-kun.”

The other voice went quiet for a moment. He spoke again, lowering his voice, “Sakusa, if this is about-”

“It’s not,” he asserted. Sakusa took the next turn a bit sharp, making Atsumu yelp in surprise.

The man sounded worried, “But I don’t want you to lose your career over this.”

“I won’t.” These two word responses were starting to get on Atsumu’s nerves, and he wasn’t even the one being spoken to.

" _I_ _f_ it’s about the autopsy-”

“Komori, it won’t be about the autopsy,” Sakusa raised his voice ever so slightly. “Takashi’s fully aware of what I’m studying. If she had a problem with it, she would’ve put an end to it months ago. It’s not about that.”

Atsumu lifted an eyebrow, curious, his left ear twitching up. “Autopsy?” he repeated under his breath.

Komori was quiet for a solid five seconds before saying, “I started this project with you because I believed in you, and I still do. But we don’t have enough evidence to prove it’s something other than an animal bite. You’re starting to grasp at straws, and you knew this was coming.”

“Animal bite?!” Atsumu incredulously repeated again, louder this time.

Without a word, Sakusa seemed to mull this over as he flicked on his blinker. He turned into the parking lot of a big, blank white building, rolling up to the security gates. Before he stopped at the little station, he said to Komori, “You know it’s not just an animal bite, Komori. I’m solving this, and there’s nothing you or Takashi can do about it.”

“Sakusa, wait-”

Cutting off the parting words of his friend, Sakusa hung up the phone without so much as a slight hesitation. Atsumu’s tail swished in interest, and an amused yet quite intrigued smile played on his lips as he continued to stare at Sakusa. This human had suddenly got a lot more interesting with just a single phone call with a coworker. While he flashed identification at the guard and was able to move through the gates, Atsumu murmured at him quizzically, “Just what’re you hiding, Sakusa-kun?”

Sakusa showed little to no emotion as he eventually pulled into an employee-only reserved parking space near the front of the industrial-like building. It almost began worrying Atsumu how emotionless he was, but that made it all the more exciting. Before Sakusa left his car, though, he reached over to the floor beneath Atsumu’s feet, grabbing his briefcase and placing it on his lap. Atsumu leaned closer to see the contents of the briefcase as he flicked open the clasps. 

“Hand sanitizer?” said Atsumu aloud. Inside the briefcase were the expected handful of professional papers, but the oddities of the ensemble were a few white facemasks, a bottle of hand sanitizer that couldn't be anything but pure alcohol, and little packages of name brand disinfectant wipes. Dumbfounded, Atsumu watched as Sakusa grabbed one of the masks, pulling it onto his face like it was routine, and promptly closing the case back up. “You humans are somethin’ else entirely,” he muttered as Sakusa exited his car.

He levitated just a bit off the ground while he followed Sakusa into the building, looking around at everything as he went. The building seemed to resemble a hospital, except more clinical and science-y, as Atsumu would describe it. It was a laboratory, Ita-Corp to be specific, and left and right passed doctors and scientists dressed in workwear standard or lab coats and scrubs. Atsumu flicked his head at each one as he strayed a bit behind his human, observing them and making the most judgemental of commentary about them in his head. It made sense for a man as rigid as this Sakusa fellow to work at a place like this. It smelled almost as sterile as his home.

“Hello!” the young woman at the front desk smiled as Sakusa approached. “Is there anything-”

“I have a meeting with Doctor Takashi Aoi,” he interrupted flatly. The lady was caught off guard, but he continued on, “Sakusa Kiyoomi.”

The lady blinked for a second before turning to her computer with a nod, paying no mind to the rudeness like it was water off her back. “Well okay then, I’ll let the Doctor know you’ve arrived,” she responded evenly, though not quite as friendly as she did before.

Atsumu leaned over to Sakusa, eyes wide and grin even wider, “ _Kiyoomi_ -kun, you’re so mean!”

Sakusa’s eye twitched almost as if he heard someone call him by his first name. He said to the woman, “I’m sure she’s expecting me now-”

“Actually, sir, she’s requested you wait your turn,” bit back the receptionist, cool and masked in a polite smile. “Please have a seat.”

Boasting a laugh, Atsumu clapped his hands as Sakusa hesitated at the desk. “Well done, Kiyoomi-kun, you’ve got just a taste of your own senile medicine! How delightful, it’s lovely to be here!”

Keeping back any harsh words he may have thought up in the moment, Sakusa conceded. He stepped away without so much as a nod, his eyes gone icy with anger, or perhaps it was anticipation for this very important meeting. He didn’t sit down in any chairs, simply stood by the waiting area straight as a board, his arms almost protectively in front of him as he held his briefcase. Atsumu smiled at him, posted right at his side, “Hey, y’know, maybe if yer a bit nicer to people, you’d get what you want faster.”

There they stood, ticking away the time. Atsumu couldn’t help but cast glances over at Sakusa every few seconds, watching the way he watched nothing at all. There was nothing in his expression that truly portrayed what he was feeling - but judging the way his shoulders were raised and his breathing had gone ever so shallower, Atsumu figured he was nervous.

“Nervous,” he repeated, low and almost wistful. “You humans are so very caught up in the most menial of things on a daily basis.” He knew full well he was speaking to no one who could listen, this entire trip was nothing but a spectacular commentary like he was watching a TV show. Separated, only a spectator as always. He looked down, his smile faltering.

“Sakusa-san,” the receptionist called, breaking off Atsumu’s train of thought. Sakusa snapped up, a bit more rapidly than someone who’s trying to mask their anxiety would prefer. The lady smiled through her slight attitude, “The Doctor is ready for you.”

With a delay of a heartbeat too long, Sakusa stepped to the door behind the woman. Atsumu prayed he’d say thank you, or any other kind passing words, but Sakusa approached the office with nothing to say. He sighed, turning to the receptionist, “I’m sorry for him, have a good day.” He infused her with a bit of luck with the rest of her day with the flick of his wrist.

Getting pulled back by the sounds of knocking, Atsumu watched Sakusa stretch his head side to side as a voice from inside called, “Come in, Sakusa-kun.”

Just an air of hesitation and Sakusa quickly turned the knob on the door, pulling his hands away to open it with his shoulder. It was clearly a practiced action. Atsumu hummed in amusement but carried on behind him, peeking his head in an attempt to see inside the office.

He was almost through the door when a loud, angry voice sounded behind him, “‘Tsumu, what the hell are ya doing?”

Atsumu whipped around, startled. Osamu stood behind him, expression thick with impatience and his tail jerking with what seemed like unease. Casting a quick look behind him, he said to his brother, “Hey, can this wait, I’m about to-”

“Where have you been?” continued Osamu, unamused. “Didja just decide to ignore Kita’s call?”

“Kita called?” Atsumu’s eyebrows pinched together. He heard the door click, and he looked back at it only to find Sakusa out of sight.

Osamu groaned, rolling his eyes, “Yes, Kita called. What were ya doin’ that was so important you couldn’t hear the alarm?”

It took a heartbeat for Atsumu to turn back to face his brother again. He blinked, “Uh, I was just followin’ this human around. Come on, man, I was just getting to the good part!”

Taking a look around like he didn’t realize where he was, Osamu muttered, “Why are you at this lab?”

“Well, y’see, this human was being a dick and said-”

“It doesn’t matter, Kita needs us,” Osamu moved to grab Atsumu’s wrist, pulling him away. 

It felt strange to actually be able to interact with something for a moment instead of phasing right through it, but Atsumu let himself get dragged out. He whined, though, pouting, “But ‘Samu! Sakusa-kun was about to go into an important meeting!”

“Why in the world do you even care?” Osamu eyed him, almost looking taken aback.

Atsumu opened his mouth quickly, but found that a clear explanation didn’t come. He simply thought, blinking at the ground as he floated by. “I dunno,” he said, “I guess I was just bored.”

There was a slight pause before Osamu shook his head, “Whatever. C’mon, Kita’s gonna whoop our asses.”

Finally outside the building, Osamu promptly zipped back up to the skies, leaving the ground in an instant. Atsumu moved to follow, but cast a glance back at the direction Sakusa would be right now. Part of him urged to go back and find out just a bit was happening. If only he could find out the autopsies and animal bites were being discussed - his curiosity was unfortunately piqued. Nevertheless, he faced the world above once more and blasted his way up faster than the humans could ever dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S-A ME. YA GIRL. ABSOLUTELY LIVING. Yes, hello. So since I'm simply obsessed with the Miya twins and I adore fox-spirit art and what not of Inarizaki, my brain produced this. As far as I'm aware, I'll try to at least update this every week or every two weeks. I'm really excited to share this since I've been thinking and working on this for at least two weeks now. I've tried making multiple chapter works before but I always run out of ideas halfway through or lose motivation, so I really want to challenge myself with this one to exercise my abilities. ((Me? Writing an Inarizaki/Miya centered fic and not writing from Osamu's perspective? Unthinkable. @ Atsumu stans, I hope I do your boy well.))
> 
> Thank you for reading, by the way! I hope you have a good day and I really hope you've enjoyed. Fare well, my friends!! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **content warning: mild gore**

As Atsumu melted back to consciousness in the Inarizaki Guild Hall, he was met immediately with concerned chatter. He hadn't even opened his eyes when Suna’s flat voice rung above the discussion, “So the king himself has finally decided to join us after taking his sweet time.”

Atsumu smiled cooly, looking him right in the eyes, “Oh Suna, I’m flattered ya think so highly of me!”

Osamu sighed from beside him, lifting himself from his chair in a flash that suggested more than a normal amount of concern, “Sorry, he was bein’ a dumbass with some humans.”

“You didn't kill anyone, did you?” Suna almost - almost - smiled as he wiped his nose on the handkerchief he always had on him, since usage of his powers made his nose bleed.

Stepping up from the seat himself, Atsumu shook his head, “Please, I only kill people when I’m  _ really _ bored.”

“Heartless fuck,” Osamu muttered under his breath.

“Don't make me clobber ya,” said Atsumu just as quietly.

Their dispute was interrupted as Kurosu loudly banged his staff against the ground, announcing, “Inarizaki Guild, take your seats. We have some important news.”

While Atsumu sat right back down, he asked Osamu curiously, “What news?”

“Just shut up and listen,” his brother bit back, refusing to make eye contact as everyone filed back to their places.

A heartbeat of a pause and Atsumu continued, “Do you know anything about this?”

Osamu shook his head, his gaze finally reaching Atsumu’s. He shrugged, “No, but Kita made it seem important.”

“Yer scared, aren’t you?” said Atsumu, a smile pulling on his lips teasingly. When Osamu flashed him a glare, he laughed, “Jeez, who knew my brother was such a baby!”

“Shut up,” Osamu grunted before Kurosu took up their attention once more.

“I’ve called attention today because of some interestin’ news that concerns our guild,” said Kurosu. He looked at each member, his normally passive gaze seeming to rake over the crowd. Were they in trouble? “I’ve just been made aware that there is a case of feral foxes in Japan. Over the past few months, humans have been getting slaughtered by these animals, in ways that normal foxes wouldn’t be able to attack.”

Atsumu eyes widened. He was brought back to his time in Tokyo with the human, Sakusa. What was it that Komori guy said? “ _ But we don’t have enough evidence to prove it’s something other than an animal bite. You’re starting to grasp at straws, and you knew this was coming. _ ” Leaning back in his chair, Atsumu lifted a hand to his mouth as Akagi asked from above, “How many cases of odd foxes are there?”

It was Kita who answered, “We’ve seen four so far, and based on what I found, this is the first time this is happenin’. The first one was about three months back in Tokyo, next two in Kanagawa, and a fourth in Saitama just yesterday.”

“How are the humans responding to the foxes?” asked Aran.

Kita blinked on, letting absolutely nothing show through his expression, “As humans are, since they don’t have an explanation and assume they’re just rabid or diseased, they’ve decided not to look into it. Instead, just urgin’ people to stay inside.”

“What does this have to do with our guild?” piped up Ginjima. He glanced at the rest of the members before saying, “This could very well be a strange phenomenon. It’s not the first time a group of animals was poisoned or gone sick.”

“These attacks are not just sick foxes,” Kurosu explained. “The damages done to these humans is far worse than what a fox can do. Kita saw each victim and deduced there was somethin’ different about the fox attacks, a ferocity that is not normal. In addition, foxes are normally not found in the places where the attacks happened, and we have been unable to find them again.”

Suna listed his head in what looked like boredom, “So the humans are being unhelpful as always, I’m guessing?”

“I wouldn’t say that necessarily,” Atsumu finally said. A few bewildered eyes turned to him, probably surprised that Atsumu of all members was giving the humans some credit. He explained to the group, “I was following this human and apparently he was tryin’ to dig deeper into the attack that happened in Tokyo. Problem is they don’t have evidence to suggest it was something more than a feral animal and the higher ups at the laboratory didn’t seem too happy with his persistence.”

Osamu blinked, an annoyed eyebrow lifted, “So… the humans are still being unhelpful is what you’re sayin’?”

“What I’m sayin’ is there are a few humans who’ve caught on,” retorted Atsumu. He kicked up his leg to cross over the other, “Just puttin’ that out there. If Kiyoomi-kun gets fired then I suppose there’s no hope anyway.”

“Kiyoomi-kun,” Suna repeated quietly with a teasing glint in his eyes. “Sounds like you’ve grown fond of him.”

He chuckled a bit, “Of course not, he just has a nice name.”

“Do you have any suggestions on what could be happening, sir?” Omimi interrupted, speaking to Kurosu once more.

At this, their leader looked almost reluctant. He said, just a bit slowly, “As ya may know, Oikawa from Aoba Johsai has fallen ill. I’m not one for conspiracy theories-”

“Here we go,” mumbled Atsumu under his breath.

“-but I do find it non-coincidental this is happenin’ as tensions around our land are high. Even more concerning is the fact that all the cases are done by foxes, our symbol.”

Aran looked troubled as he asked, “Are you suggesting one of us launched the attacks?”

Kurosu didn’t answer right away. Kita stepped in for him, “We understand it could very well be another guild or some other force attemptin’ to throw us under scrutiny. Before we make accusations internally, we’re aiming to find out through other sources. I place my undying trust in each and every one of you, but we’d be fools to completely rule out the option that this is the doing of one of our own.”

A silence washed over the guild. Nobody moved or spoke, but it was clear with the air that plunged cold that the harsh truth of a potential traitor being among their fellow guildmates was not something anyone liked to think about. Atsumu glanced over at Osamu and he looked right back; both shared the expression of dark concern.

Osamu looked back to Kita and asked, “Is there any significance to the humans they killed?”

Kita responded, “From what we’ve gathered so far, it appears it’s just random. There is a deliberacy in  _ how  _ each of the victims died - deeply slashed across their faces and large chunks ripped out of their torsos. The victims also seemed to be alone at night when they died. The victims ranged from a flower shop owner to a lawyer, so it doesn’t appear the specific people are intentional.”

“Who would want to frame Inarizaki?” asked Akagi, with a grim tone to his voice despite his leg irritably bouncing. 

Kurosu spoke once more, looking down, “It pains me to think that any of the guilds that occupy this world with us would wish to do us harm. I plan to call a meeting of the directorate to bring it to their attention, but I don't wanna point fingers just yet. I wanted to tell you all first before I bring it up to them.”

“Maybe I should ask Shouyou-kun if he knows anythin’, hm?” Atsumu hummed.

Kita shook his head, “No, I’d prefer if ya don’t talk about it, Atsumu. Not until we get as much information as we can.”

Dipping his head, Atsumu sighed dramatically, “Yes, Kita-san.”

…

“Don’t think about doin’ anything, dumbass.”

Atsumu leaned up just a bit, scoffing, “C’mon, ‘Samu, ya really think I’d do something?”

Not looking up from the book he borrowed from Suna, he nodded, “Yes, I really do think you’d fuck something up.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s all over yer dumb face.”

“Ah, ain’t ya so glad you have the same face as I do?” 

The twins were now stationed back in their home, which consisted of just a large room the two shared. For you humans, the spirits beyond the veil don’t need to use bathrooms, and elaborate homes like yours aren’t necessary for some, like the twins. However, they did line the edges and walls of the room with various plants and small trees, of which they take turns watering every day, and there were a few pieces of furniture that decorated the room nicely. Their sleeping areas were mounds of blankets instead of the mattresses you sleep in, and as for food, they often went out to hunt the various small creatures in the mystical forest if their offerings of the day lacked. There’s always enough to go around in this world, though that certainly does not make it paradise.

Flipping around to lay on his stomach, Atsumu clutched the fabrics of his bed as he groaned into the softness, “Look, I just wanna go back to see if Kiyoomi-kun was fired! Maybe I can find some useful info-”

Osamu interrupted, “Kita said nobody’s going back out for the rest of the day.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Atsumu was silent for a few seconds before he lifted his head up, partly turning to face his brother again, “Hey ‘Samu, do ya think if we were human we’d wear matching clothes?”

At this, Osamu’s eyes flicked up from the book. He lifted an eyebrow, “I don’t know. It looks stupid so probably not.”

“What do ya think we’d do if we were human?” Atsumu continued to inquire. “For our jobs, I mean.”

Osamu fell silent, taking some time to answer. “I don’t know,” he said again. He followed it up, “Why do you care? You seem awfully concerned with humans today.”

“Well, I was just caught up in Kiyoomi-kun’s day today is all,” he shrugged, smiling a bit. “I started thinkin’ about if we were human. Not a big deal.”

Tilting his head, Osamu continued on with his usual expression of indifference, “Why do ya keep calling the human that?”

“What, Kiyoomi-kun? It’s just fun to say!”

“It’s weird,” said Osamu as he closed the book, setting it down on the floor next to him. “What’s so interesting about him anyway?”

Atsumu thought, looking up as he pondered. “Well, he was about to make a wish of luck, but all he said was ‘I don’t believe in luck’ or something like that. Not to mention he was a dick in general and he had this weird thing with cleanliness.”

“And you want to go back to him?” Osamu crossed his arms. “What makes him any more special than anyone else?”

Rolling over on his back again, Atsumu considered the notion. He said finally, staring up at the ceiling, “Well, not particularly. It’s just now that we’ve got this whole fox situation, and he’s involved, maybe we should find out more.”

Once again, it took Osamu a few seconds to answer, “It sounds like you’re specially interested in this human, ‘Tsumu.” Atsumu glared at his brother, but before he could say anything Osamu continued, “You know what the directorate says about connections with humans.”

“Shut up, ‘Samu, humans are stupid, brainless, and overly sensitive,” Atsumu lifted his hands in the air, clawing at nothing. “What makes ya think I’d actually care if Kiyoomi-kun lives or dies?”

Osamu let out a breath through his nose, warily watching his brother with an unreadable look in his eyes. He said, “Just making sure. Now is not the time to get wrapped up in that.”

“I’m fully aware, brother,” he dropped his hands.

There is often a tale told by the seniors of the land, of the times when humans and those beyond the veil were more closely acquainted. They became friends, working together to lead nations, and some even fell in love. As humanity evolved and the spirits became more and more invested in the lives of the human species, there came a point when humans and spirits had children, or some spirits were so engaged in humanity they wanted nothing to do with their duties as a protector and overseer. The hybrid children were monstrous, as humans and spirits were never meant to mix. Many of these creatures have been banished to outside the walls, forever suffering in their cursed immortality. And those who wished to join humanity themselves? Well, they did just that; they did not return to the skies as the sun was on the direct other side of the world - or as you humans would say, when the clock struck midnight. These spirits turned into human beings at that time, and while they still had the capacity to return as they wished, they were not built for humanity. No, these spirits having aged thousands of years before, could not properly assimilate to the quicker aging, to the proper care humans had to take to their fragile bodies. Many decided to return to the skies, but the process was immensely painful, more painful than I could ever wish to imagine. Others stayed in their humans lives but, eventually, wasted away much quicker than other humans.

Because of this improper mixing of spirits and humans, the directorate had decided to ban spirits from forming proper relationships with humans - thus rendering them unable to speak to or be seen by humans in their daily works. All spirits were to report back to the skies come midnight, and if they did not, all communications would be cut off and they would not be allowed to return. While the veil between the two worlds was thin, this disconnection made it just thick enough for the two to work independently while still maintaining their inherent reliance on each other.

Oh, as troublesome as Atsumu was, if I could give him one thing at the very least; boundaries were of no limit to his dreams and desires. That kind of ambition can get one caught in many nets along the way, but it’s a miracle the sheer amount that Atsumu had didn’t make him crash and burn sooner than it did. I almost think every single one of his actions were out of spite.

The night continued on and ‘Kiyoomi-kun’ wasn’t brought up specifically again, although Atsumu did continue to ask many questions about the humans, many of which Osamu did not have the answers to. There came a point Osamu was quite fed up with all this discussion about humans that he fell into slumber early. Atsumu, though, stayed up at night, relaying the events of his day over and over in his head. He thought about Sakusa, how nervous a man of his icy demeanor was before speaking to his boss. Atsumu wished he could've been there to witness the meeting with his boss, even if it turned out to be a positive. While it would’ve been hilarious to see him get all worked up only to find out he’d be kicked out, it would’ve been just as interesting to see why this Doctor Takashi would let him continue. He was curious, now, as to how Sakusa worked; what made him tick? Answering himself, Atsumu figured not that much. Even the most complex of humans were simpleminded and easy to understand. 

The next morning, the twins took their usual path to work, and Atsumu blabbered on once more about humanity as he did the night before.

“Do ya think they'll ever stop being selfish for once?” Atsumu asked, placing a finger on his chin, “Or are they just inherently shitty?”

Osamu almost laughed, “Please, you can't just make blanket statements like that. Some of them are inherently shitty, some of them aren't selfish at all. Well, not completely unselfish.”

Bordering on a pout, Atsumu whined, “Man, why can't the humans be like… I don't know, lab rats in a maze? Totally simple and testing dummies for the fun stuff.”

“Who says they aren't?”

“You make a good point.”

The two of them went silent for a heartbeat. Osamu didn't meet his brother’s gaze as he said, “So why all this talk about humans? Seriously?”

“I really don't know,” he shrugged like he did the night before. “Just been on my mind I guess. Why do ya keep asking?”

“Because it's not like you to care so much,” Osamu sent him a sideways glance.

Atsumu lifted his hands behind him, a wide smile stretching across his lips, “I’m not totally heartless! There's a lot to… talk about…” He trailed off at the whiff of something sharp, stopping in his tracks. Sniffing the air, Atsumu winced at the smell of acrid smoke.

“What’s…” Osamu started, also catching on to the smoke. His eyes widened while his ears flattened against his head, “Oh fuck.”

“Is that coming from the Guild Hall?” Atsumu dropped his hands, concern immediately lacing his brow.

Osamu threw him another look before taking off flying through the air, Atsumu right on his tail. They zoomed through the path, the smell of smoke getting thicker and thicker as they hurried. There was a pit of fear hardened in Atsumu’s stomach, but it didn't weigh him down one bit. His mind raced with all the questions and possibilities of what in the world was happening. When he heard the commotion of voices and shouts, his heartbeat picked up just a little faster.

They’d finally reached the Guild Hall - or, what was left of it - when they scrambled to a stop, dead silent. Before them, the stones and wood features of the building were black and covered in ash. The roof had caved in, leaving the entire building open to the world, displaying proudly the devastation that took place. There were still small fires upon the front steps, and the dark red banners that previously lined the walls were now strewn across or under the rubble. The stone chairs that so mightily stood at the far end of the room were reduced to nothing but charred pieces. Atsumu lifted his hands to his face, speechless. Members from other guilds as well as their own were picking through the destruction, putting out the remains of the devastating fire.

Atsumu began glaring, a direct opposition to Osamu’s quiet, empty shock. Where Osamu’s eyes grew wide and hopeless, Atsumu’s sharpened with the grief. He looked around, dropping his hands from his face to ball them into fists, “Where is Kita-san?”

“I’m here.”

The twins whipped around, startled. They didn’t hear Kita appear behind them, but his expression was flat and forever unchanging despite the damage. No, that wasn’t quite right - his mouth had pulled a little tighter, his eyes were weary around the edges. Clearly, beloved ‘Kita-san’ was in just as much disarray as the twins. His eyes seemed to go straight through them, “Did you two just arrive?”

“Is everyone okay?” bypassing the question, Atsumu stepped up to Kita. “Was anyone inside when it went down?”

At that, Kita’s lips dipped into a frown. He looked at the ground, for the first time ever unable to make solid eye contact. His voice was just a bit hoarse, “Master Kurosu… He was killed during the attack. His body was found this mornin’. No one else was injured.”

Atsumu lifted a hand to his forehead, looking up at the sky as a whirlwind of emotion flooded through him. On one hand, the news was so shocking he couldn’t wrap his mind around it, it didn’t  _ feel _ real - but on the other, the inexplicable sadness and frustration that came with disaster was so very strong. All he could do now was try to process it all among the rapidity of each news of tragedy.

Osamu asked, low and almost hesitant, “Do you know how he died? It couldn’t have been the fire.”

The only ways the spirits of this land die are death at the hands of themselves or other spirits using certain weapons, or by turning into a human and dying naturally. Things like fire or falling from heights wouldn’t kill a spirit, simply damage them until they could regenerate. Kita was gifted with the ability to see how people died. By touching the deceased body, he could relay the experiences they had as they were dying through their eyes. However, this power only works on humans and thus, Kita’s powers are rendered useless.

Kita explained, regaining his composure. “The only visible injury he sustained was a wound through his heart. It looks like the blade of a katana.”

Atsumu had nothing else to add. While his mind raced a million miles per hour, he couldn’t keep track of any thought that filtered through his head. He felt so blank but so incredibly restless at the same time. Osamu finally asked, “Where’s Suna?”

Kita nodded down the path headed East, “The other members are staying in my home. We won’t be goin’ out today, I want everyone staying in one place the rest of the day to keep it all sorted out.” He added, tilting his head a bit, “Suna is okay, if that’s what yer asking.”

“He fuckin’ better be,” Osamu grumbled, turning on his heel to head down the path. Atsumu watched him go, his brother’s tail swishing with either anger or concern. Since when had Osamu cared about Suna specifically?

He turned his head back to Kita as he said, “Atsumu, I need a favor from you.”

“Yes, Kita-san?”

“As ya know, since Kurosu-sama has… passed, I’m next in line for Master and I’ll be given his seat in the directorate. Given the current situation both here and in the human world, I will be heading out immediately to begin the process of induction.” He leaned forward a bit, his eyes tearing into Atsumu, “While I’m gone, do not do anything stupid. I put Aran in charge earlier, and if I hear you attempted to leave tonight, there  _ will _ be punishment.”

Atsumu swallowed, leaning back as Kita stared right into his brain. He was almost embarrassed that the thought of going back to the human world regardless had crossed his mind more than a few times during his onslaught of panic. He nodded quickly, “Yes, Kita-san.”

“I’m also makin’ sure your brother stays in check too,” Kita continued, “If one of you messes with anything at all, the other is also getting punishment. Understood?”

“Yes, Kita-san.”

Kita nodded curtly, seeming to have gotten his point across. He looked back at the wreck behind Atsumu, his frown once again pulling at the edges. Atsumu turned around, a solemn grief painted all across his face. He observed at stone chairs again, noticing how all of them were crushed and laced with ash. Another spike of fear had settled inside him again - all these questions tumbling through his mind, and yet not nearly enough answers.

“Hey...” he whispered, keeping his gaze focused on Osamu’s chair, which seemed to have survived the wreckage the most.

“Yes?”

Atsumu’s gaze flicked down. “I’m gonna find whoever did this. For Inarizaki  _ and _ for Kurosu. I swear, I’ll make them-”

Kita interrupted him, even and firm, “Don’t. Revenge is a fool’s game. Whoever did this will get what’s coming to them, as karma works itself out in the end. Don’t let your emotions dictate your actions, especially now when the wound is fresh.”

He gritted his teeth as he almost snapped, “But what if it was you? Or anyone else? What if ‘Samu was in there, would they’ve killed him too?”

“Listen to me-”

Like releasing a dam of water, the anger poured out of him, “I was fine with this being just an issue with the humans, but whoever did this made a big mistake bringin’ it to my family, Kita-san.”

“Enough!” Atsumu glared down at Kita as he glared back, “I understand what you’re feelin’, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel some of it too. Don’t you dare let your temper control you, you are stronger than that.” His eyes went cold with intensity, “Atsumu, you have my word that I will do everything I can to keep you and Osamu safe. I’d protect you both till my dying breath. But I can't protect ya if you decide to take matters into your own hands. Think logically about this.”

Kita always kept his word. He would honor his promises even if it killed him, and Atsumu knew that. Despite the cry in his heart that told him to fight, to leave immediately to find whoever murdered their master and burned down their Guild Hall, he dipped his head. Shoulders heavy, he muttered, “As you wish, Kita-san.”

“Thank you,” Kita bowed a bit. He looked on back to the remains of his precious Guild Hall one more time before saying to Atsumu, “I’m leaving to the mountain now. Tell everyone I wish them well during this hard time.”

Smiling wearily, despite the pain that rolled through him, Atsumu joked, “Hey, when you come back, you’ll be Master Kita now, huh? Kita-sama doesn’t quite have a ring to it.”

Kita was unimpressed, but I don’t think he ever  _ is _ impressed. “It’s premature to call me Master Kita. I’d rather not have that title until I feel I’ve earned it,” he said apathetically. “You can still call me Kita-san if you wish, though.”

This time, the small smile upon Atsumu’s lips was a bit more genuine, “Why, that’s understandable. Thank you.”

Atsumu stood by as he watched Kita go, almost entranced by his fluffy, fluffy tail lightly swishing in the air. He didn’t talk to anyone as he left, just walked right into the forests to start his journey to the mountain. Atsumu wasn’t quite sure what the process was, but what he did know was Kita was banned from eating anything while on his journey as well as the fact that some Masters in the past never returned. Shivering at the thought of Kita disappearing into that forest forever, even if it wasn’t nearly as strong since spirits respond differently to powers than humans, Atsumu instilled him with as much luck as he could just before he was enveloped by the mighty trees. 

When Kita was gone, all Atsumu could do was stare back at the Guild Hall. The grand building that housed them as they performed their daily rituals, the place where the twins could goof off and banter with the other members, the first important thing Atsumu remembered from his childhood centuries and centuries ago. The other spirits who were around to help had gone back to their own guilds, and all that was left was him and the remains of a place he almost called home. When he turned to head down the path directly opposite from the way Kita had gone, he wiped his eyes and tried his best to take Kita’s words to heart.

\-----

“Man, I’m bored,” Atsumu groaned as he lay on his back, searching the forever blue sky over and over again.

Osamu huffed, exasperated, “Maybe you shoulda thought about that before breaking Master Kurosu’s staff, idiot.”

“Hey!” he flew to a sitting position, glaring at his brother as he traced little shapes in the sand-mud substance at the shore with a stick. “That was an accident! I didn’t know you’d fling me right into it!”

“Whatever.”

“Don’t ‘whatever’ me, ‘Samu! Ya can’t just say it’s my fault and then drop it.”

The twins had been banished outside the Guild Hall that day as everyone did their work, leaving them to find things to do as the hours dragged on. Only 260 years old - physically about 12 - the twins were seated at the lake behind the Guild Hall. With a groan, Atsumu stood, looking around for something to do.

Atsumu scratched behind his ears, complaining, “It sucks that  _ Suna _ gets to do cool stuff and we don’t. What does Suna do anyway?”

“Suna doesn’t do anything, that’s why Kurosu likes him,” Osamu grumbled, having returned to his drawings.

“If he could, he’d sleep all day,” he declared, closing his eyes and twisting his face with sass. “Or read those stupid books. What are they even about anyway?”

Osamu shrugged in response, still frowning down at the ground. Atsumu continued, his volume dropping, “Either way I’m still bored.”

“What’s so fun about the humans anyway, I thought you hated them,” Osamu’s eyes flicked up to him for a few seconds before looking away. “I mean, stayin’ here with me ain’t too bad, right?”

He considered his brother, tilting his head in thought. “Well, sure,” he conceded, “but the humans are different. They’re big jerks but they’re all so interestin’ too. If I could float around the human world forever, I probably would.”

Nodding his head slowly, Osamu didn’t say anything back. He turned his head to the lake in silence, and Atsumu wondered if he hurt Osamu’s feelings for some reason. But before he could speak again, Osamu said, “Hey, what’s that?”

His brother was squinting at something in the distance, dropping his stick to get a closer look. Atsumu blinked after him, “What’s what?”

“C’mere, there’s something out there,” he gestured to Atsumu to get closer, not ripping his eyes from the water.

Atsumu did so, his toes almost touching the water as he peered ever closer. There was nothing catching his attention as he searched, only a flat, foggy expanse of water. He tried looking for something above or around the lake and yet, he couldn’t seem to find the object of Osamu’s confusion. He craned his neck as he said, “What’re you talkin’ about, there’s nothin-”

Before he knew it, there was an incredible force on Atsumu’s back. He flew forward, crashing into the cold lake water. He panicked for a short minute underwater before scrambling back up, letting his head break the surface, gasping for air. As he coughed out the water that he accidentally swallowed, he heard playful cackling on the shore beside him. He brought his sharp glare over to his brother as he laughed, loud and quite amused.

“Oh ‘Tsumu, ya shoulda seen your face!” Osamu shouted, his grin wide and mischievous as ever.

Atsumu blinked after him with visible annoyance, water droplets falling from his ears and face into the lake below. His face was almost hot in embarrassment despite how frigid the lake was. He growled, beginning to wade his way back through the water, “Get over here, ‘Samu! I’m pushin’ you in too!”

“You wish!” Osamu beamed, proud of his accomplishments.

With another growl, he leaped the last few steps and landed on the shore, but Osamu had already taken off running. He followed, his tail sticking straight up against the dampness, yelling curses at his brother. It was almost colder  _ outside  _ of the lake, and that made Atsumu even more mad. He screeched, “Get over here, ya big fat jerk!”

“You’re the idiot who fell for it!” Osamu continued to laugh. He slowed down to turn around, lifting his hands apologetically. His smile was wide and, even Atsumu could admit, happy. Atsumu stopped in his tracks, seconds away from reaching him as Osamu said, “Sorry, sorry, I won’t do it again.”

Atsumu didn’t have anything to say immediately as he frowned at him. A shiver passed through and prickled his skin, making him cross his arms over himself. He scoffed, rolling his eyes, “You better not.”

Osamu nodded, his smile fading but not completely gone. He mused, “It was still funny though.”

“I’ll smack ya, I swear! Get over here!”

\-----

The energy in Kita’s home was tense. The usual chatter that had filled the Guild Hall when they were all together was nothing more but a hushed murmur. Atsumu tapped his finger against his arm as he sat on the cushion at Kita’s grand table. His ears didn’t stop twitching and his tail would move one way or the next every few seconds. This didn’t feel right. Kita said not to do anything, but how could not do  _ something _ at least? The only Master any of them had ever known was just murdered and their Guild Hall was destroyed. He wanted to get to the bottom of this - the unknown killed him, it turned up his insides. But all he could do now was sit there and stare at the table.

Kita’s home wasn’t unfamiliar to the twins, it was where they stayed for their first 500 years of life in this world. It was simple - only three rooms and a backyard that held a serene little pond. Kita never did anything that was unnecessary, but even he liked to indulge himself in small ways now and again. The rooms were always a bit dim and the decorations were things such as katanas, paintings by Kita himself, and enough plants to consider it a greenhouse. It was nice to know that Kita wasn’t completely unfeeling - even he had interests and things that made him happy. Just like humans, Atsumu believed the way spirits chose to conduct their personal space was a representation of them and their personalities. But now, the usual comfort and security that came with staying at Kita’s house had grown sour with the influence of recent events.

After a handful of minutes of casting glances in his direction, Osamu finally spoke to him, “Why are ya wackin’ out on me, you’re twitching like a maniac.”

“I’m just pissed,” Atsumu hissed, keeping his gaze focused on the table. “Kita said not to do anything tonight, but it’s fucking hard.”

“What is there to do?” Osamu reasoned, looking up at the wall in front of them. “We don’t have any information about other guilds trying to attack us, and the humans seem to know next to nothing about those wild foxes.”

Atsumu turned to him, his eyes fiery, “But we can look! I know I’m a broken record at this point, but-”

“Not the human again.”

“But! Sakusa-kun knows things, he seems to have more information than we do! If I could just look-”

Osamu interrupted again, more assertive this time while still keeping himself quiet, “Didn’t you say he didn’t have enough information to make a case? What is your deal with this human?”

“It’s got nothing to do with  _ him _ , it’s the fact he has at least some information.”

“I’m seriously starting to doubt that.”

“Why?! I only knew him for a few hours-”

“You talk about him nonstop, for cryin’ out loud.”

“I don’t know what-”

“You never care about specific humans, not like this. Something is different about this and it’s gettin’ on my nerves!” Osamu’s expression was dark, angry. Other members were catching on to the quiet, whispered argument before them and had hushed to listen. Osamu continued regardless, “Why can’t you just be patient for once? What’s so important about this human that you’re choosing him over Kita’s wishes?”

Atsumu glanced at the others, feeling the tension get heavier and heavier as they argued. He dropped his voice lower, “I keep tellin’ ya but you ain’t listening: it has nothing to do with the human. I want to find out what he knows so we can target whoever killed Kurosu faster.”

“We have evidence and things to talk about  _ here _ . You don’t need the humans, ‘Tsumu, you have everything…” Osamu trailed off momentarily. “Why can’t ya chill out and enjoy life here, where you’re at least safe? It could’ve easily been anyone else instead of Kurosu, don’t you realize that?”

There was a hesitation as Atsumu stared into Osamu’s eyes. They were angry, sure, but there was something else behind them that was different. Osamu clenched his jaw, snapping his head away. There was nothing else to say. Atsumu watched Suna, who sat on the other side of Osamu this whole time, place a comforting hand on his shoulder, but even then Osamu brushed it away. Suna looked at him with an unreadable expression but respected his decision as he too looked down. 

Finally, Aran entered through the door with Akagi and Omimi in tow, breaking the dead silence. They must’ve felt the tension, since Akagi’s ears perked up as his gaze flickered around the room and Aran raised an eyebrow with slight concern. Nevertheless, the three of them stood at the front of the table, then one by one sat down to address the guild.

It was no doubt that Aran was already chosen as Kita’s second in command. He spoke to the guild with the integrity of one already fit to be a leader. “Today has been a hard day for everyone, and I know that. We can’t tell when the fire started or when our Master was killed but it must’ve been long before Kita-san and I were alerted of what was happenin’. We got help from Karasuno and Nekoma to put out the fires and tend to Master’s body. He had a single wound from a sword, right through his heart, and it doesn’t seem like anythin’ else caused his passing. Whoever did this was prepared.”

“Didn’t Master go to a meeting the other night?” Suna spoke up, his voice bored but his eyes keen and alert.

Akagi quickly nodded a few times, affirming, “Yes, he did. He held a meeting with other leaders of the directorate at our Guild Hall, and apparently only the Masters from Karasuno, Shiratorizawa, and Nekoma brought their seconds. Of course, Oikawa from Aoba Johsai wasn’t present due to his illness, and his apprentice Iwaizumi came in his place. They talked about what was happening in the human world and it appeared nobody had any information.”

“Well, Tendou from Shiratorizawa was oddly suspicious,” Omimi added on. “He claimed Kurosu could be launching the wild foxes himself as an excuse to point fingers and start a war. Kita felt that he didn’t know anything, though, so he didn’t think it was him who was orchestrating the attacks.”

Ginjima hummed, thinking, “Kita’s intuition is usually reliable.”

“Not to mention Tendou is actually a lunatic,” Atsumu remarked grimly. “Kita might not have had a good read on him, but he seems too impulsive to be able to conjure up anythin’ remotely elaborate.”

“We shouldn’t rule him out just yet until we have proof,” warned Aran. “Either way, later that night after everyone had left, Kita stayed with Kurosu a bit more to discuss. According to him, nothing seemed out of the ordinary as he left to go home that night.”

One of the younger members, Riseki, piped up, “Well how did the cats from Nekoma respond at the meeting?”

Aran glanced to the side in thought, trying to remember, “Kita didn’t say anything particularly good or bad about Nekomata or Kuroo. I think in general we should be wary of them, we know how secretive they can be. But it appeared Kuroo was just as concerned with the whole ordeal, even went as far as to offer protection or extra help searchin’ if need be.”

“What about the one from Fukurodani, Bokuto?” Atsumu asked, leaning back uncomfortably. “Him and the kitten are quite close, aren’t they?”

“Kita said he was boisterous as always, there wasn’t anything off about him.”

Atsumu tapped the table impatiently, huffing a breath out of his nose as he sorted through the information. “Did Kita ever mention why Kurosu stayed behind?”

“Well, you know how he speaks to the moon, don’t you?” Osamu answered. His voice was rigid, making the interaction almost awkward. “He probably didn’t have time to do so because of the meeting.”

“Right,” muttered Atsumu. He didn’t meet his brother’s eyes, and Osamu seemed to have no intention of looking at him either.

“I think it’s important to add,” Omimi said, calling everyone’s attention, “that the murder weapon was not found. From what we could see, the katana entered from his front side.”

Ginjima’s ears flicked up, his eyes going wide, “So that means he saw whoever did it.”

“If he saw them, why didn’t he fight them?” one of the other younger members, Touko, asked. “His tag was still intact, right?”

It appears that is one thing I forgot to mention about the Inarizaki Guild. Each member has certain attributes and powers that are individual to only them, but one thing all of them share regardless of rank is a tag. It’s a blood red fabric that hangs from a string at one of their human-like ears. It holds immense power, activation of it grants the user a ‘power up’ in a sense. Fighting ability and speed increases, their nails grow sharper, their eyesight doubles, their bloodlust increases - it’s only used in emergency situations. After each use, the fabric burns up, and it may take days or weeks for it to reappear. They’re used incredibly sparingly, even Atsumu knows his limits, since he has never used it before.

Aran looked at the table, seeming almost embarrassed, “That’s one thing we’re still tryin’ to figure out. Not only who started the fire and killed Master, but why it appears Master didn’t fight back.”

Tapping his chin absentmindedly, Suna said, “Could’ve easily been a surprise attack, don’t you think?”

“Sure, but even then, Kurosu would’ve activated his tag,” Akagi reasoned. He was fiddling with his robes, spreading them out in front of him and running his hands along his legs as he spoke, “He’d utilize the regeneration, wouldn’t he?

Suna continued, low and skeptical, “Well then that means he  _ let  _ the murderer kill him. And I can’t help but ask…”

“Don’t you dare,” Osamu grumbled, already knowing what he’d say.

“Did Kita really go right home that night?” hummed Suna regardless of Osamu’s warning. There was a glint in his eyes as everyone bristled. Atsumu’s jaw dropped, his heart going still in his chest.

Aran spoke up, his brow furrowing, “Suna, we will not be pointin’ fingers amongst ourselves just yet, at our new Master no less.”

The usually quietly judgemental Suna raised a hand, shaking his head a bit, “Look, I’m not saying I think Kita-san killed Master. All I’m saying is we still need to consider the possibility it could be one of us, and Kita was-”

“Shut the fuck up, Suna,” Atsumu snapped. All eyes went to him, even Osamu’s. He leaned around his brother to glare at him, “Keep throwing Kita-san under the bus like that and we’ll start thinkin’ it’s you.”

“I never said I think Kita-”

“You didn’t have to say it!”

“Why so defensive, Atsumu?”

Atsumu lifted himself, the anger prickling through his veins. Osamu began to stand too, placing himself between them as Atsumu growled, “Kita would never fuckin’ do that. Do you even care about your family, Suna?”

Suna’s gaze went icy, but before he could say anything, Osamu placed a hand on Atsumu’s chest, “Calm the hell down.”

“What are you saying, ‘Samu?” Atsumu’s anger directed at his brother now as he pushed the hand away. “He just suggested Kita killed our Master, why’re you defending him?”

“I’m not defendin’ him, I’m telling you to shut up,” he raised his voice but didn’t yell.

Had Aran not shouted at them to stop, Atsumu would’ve thrown a punch, but considering where he was and who was there, it wasn’t worth it. Atsumu opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. He and Osamu locked eyes a few more seconds before sitting back down, stiff and furious. The room crackled with agitation and Atsumu wanted nothing more than to leave. He tried looking back at Suna, but he was hidden behind Osamu’s figure.

After taking in a deep breath, Aran said slowly, “We are not puttin’ each other under suspicion at this time, okay? It would do us no good to collapse in on ourselves. This could be exactly what they want. Until we run out of proof that any other guild could’ve done it, we stick together. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” everyone nodded. 

Atsumu felt a bubbling in his chest, an odd mix of fear, anger, and distress. It threatened to choke him as the group dispersed, and he stood immediately to charge out of the room before anyone could speak to him. There was relief in the fact that nobody called after him or followed him out. He went down a hallway immediately, sliding open a screen to the backyard-like area. He was grateful he knew this house like the back of his hand - his body seemed to know where he was going before his mind realized what he wanted.

He wasted no time hopping on top of the stone wall that bordered Kita’s home, just like he always did when Atsumu was angry when the twins were young. It was made up of whole boulders and rocks, cement holding it all together. It was cool to the touch underneath the midday sun. He stood there for a moment, overlooking the land of green brush and few but bountiful trees, before leaning down to hang his legs over the edge. In the distance the tall mountains that acted as walls around the land stood ever so solemnly, and Atsumu knew beyond that were the monsters and demons that could never truly die. A cruel punishment, some may say, but Atsumu couldn’t care less either way. He also knew that in those mountains, Kita was travelling by himself in the midst of all this unease back home.

Atsumu kicked his legs mindlessly, watching the expanse of the empty land again and again. He thought about what Osamu said to him the day before, how there were spirits who talked and rumored about betrayal. This entire situation… it was impossible to be without the influence of those outside the walls. He should’ve listened to Osamu, because it became increasingly clear that he might be right. The feral foxes, the burning down of the Guild Hall, the murder of Master Kurosu - it was all the work of spirits gone astray with the ideals of evil. When he heard the humans were getting killed, he didn’t think much of it. Just a scandal that could get worked out quickly, it didn’t affect him in any way. But this? Having destruction thrown upon him so suddenly, the possibility of the rest of his family being in danger, the accusations and turmoil? It was a completely different story.

The more Atsumu thought, the more appealing became the idea of going back to the human world. At least there he knew there was something to be found. He could go to the other guilds but none would truly give him the information he needed. The only issue, though; if he wanted to enter the human world, he’d have to do so himself through the physical portal that stationed soundly in the woods since their Master couldn’t teleport him via ritual like he used to every morning. As tempting as it was, he knew he’d never be able to leave Kita’s house without getting caught. He also subconsciously thought through ways he could leave anyway. The flip flop of consideration and self-discipline was almost frustrating.

He thought about and rationalized it all night, stared blankly at the land until the sun began to set. He only came back inside when Aran had called for him from the porch as the world went dark, and he conceded without argument. When he had found his way to the room where a few beddings were set up, Osamu was already curled around himself, fast asleep. Atsumu’s gaze hovered down at him, making him think back over the events of the meeting. With many thoughts on his mind and maybe even a few regrets, he found an empty bedding and tried to fall asleep too.

His attempts to sleep, though, were for not. He tossed and turned, woke up every time he recognized he was sleeping. Everything that was happening weighed down on him, dampening his mind until all it could do was question and rethink and plan and regret. There came a point in the night where he lifted his hands to his face, trying to block out any light that filtered through his eyelids, but alas nothing felt quite right. 

“ _ Why do you care? You seem awfully concerned with humans today. _ ”

“ _ While I’m gone, do not do anything stupid. I put Aran in charge earlier, and if I hear you attempted to leave tonight, there  _ will  _ be punishment. _ ”

“ _ Atsumu, you have my word that I will do everything I can to keep you and Osamu safe. I’d protect you both till my dying breath. But I can't protect ya if you decide to take matters into your own hands. _ ”

“ _ Why can’t ya chill out and enjoy life here, where you’re at least safe? It could’ve easily been anyone else instead of Kurosu, don’t you realize that? _ ”

“ _ Well then that means he  _ let  _ the murderer kill him. And I can’t help but ask… _ Did Kita really go right home that night?”

He blinked open his eyes after about an hour of trying to put the day away, frowning and exhausted. The fear and concern he felt within him was enough to keep him lucid, and it was frustrating. For once in his life, all he wanted to do was let it go, since he knew it was best if he just sat back and let the senior members do the hard work. And yet… a part of him still wanted to try. But at what cost was he willing to do so? Once again his conflicting ideals caused a stalemate in his mind.

When Atsumu looked back over to where his brother was, it took him a few seconds to realize he wasn’t there. He blinked, that concern that haunted him becoming more and more noticeable. Quickly standing, he looked around the room, finding that he didn’t actually remember who had chosen to stay there as opposed to the other room of the house where Aran and some others stayed. He picked his way to the door, sliding it open as carefully as he could. If anyone was going to be sneaking out at night and putting himself in danger, it would  _ not _ be Osamu.

His steps were quiet as he sniffed the air, finding Osamu’s scent as easily as ever. Atsumu looked around, wondering where in the world he’d go at a time like this. The framed flowers that hung on the otherwise empty walls of Kita’s home didn’t provide much comfort. A thought flittered past; that Osamu perhaps decided to go out into the human world himself. But he pushed it away, since Osamu was so opposed to it earlier. When he heard muffled voices in the direction of the backyard, his ears pricked up and he froze.

Atsumu couldn’t tell what was being said, but he knew he heard Osamu’s voice. Holding his breath, he slid down the hallway, guided only by the voices and the light that spilled through the open door in the distance. As he shimmied up behind one of the doors slowly, he listened in while Osamu said, “...he really is the biggest dumbass.”

_ Thanks, brother _ , Atsumu rolled his eyes. The second voice mused quietly, “You said it.”

So he was talking to Suna, was he? Atsumu almost grimaced, and he considered actually going back to the room since this was nothing more than a stupid conversation. But it was about him, so he stayed for just a bit longer as both of them went silent.

Suna finally asked, “What was your blow up at him about? At the table, I mean.”

It took Osamu some time to respond, and Atsumu found it was hard holding his breath for this long. His heart racketed in his chest and he hoped they didn’t hear it. Osamu finally said, low and wistful, “Atsumu and I have grown up together for the past 1800 years. Him bein’ so… entranced in the human world isn’t new, but this is the first time I’ve seen him just so interested in a human. He swears it ain’t about the human himself, but I see the look in his eyes as he talks on and on and on ‘bout him, it’s just different. He keeps asking me questions about them that I don’t have the answers to.” His voice dropped quieter, “I really believe he likes them a bit more than me, even if he acts like he hates them all. Honestly, it makes me upset.”

Atsumu looked down. Guilt and sadness squeezed through him, gripping around his throat as he listened. He looked back up though as Osamu said, “But… I’m happy to see his goofy ass smile. I want to stay with him as long as I can, whenever I have the chance. If either of us get killed durin’ all this, I at least want to make him laugh one last time before we do. That’d be enough for me.”

Tears pushed behind Atsumu’s eyes. He lifted his hands to his face, cupping his mouth and pushing his fingers on the corners of his eyes so as to not break down right there. He trembled as the sadness was replaced with warmth, a sensation of relief. It surged in his heart, threatening to make him reveal himself right there and tell Osamu he loved him too. But he stayed quiet, keeping his breaths as shallow as he could. He picked himself away from the door, not trusting himself to stay there any longer without crying.

It was in that moment Atsumu decided what he needed to do. In fact, it was entirely opposite of what Osamu wanted from him. But he couldn’t sleep without knowing. He couldn’t rest with the knowledge that he could be working away at discovering who was doing this and keeping Osamu safe. If anything was of priority over Kita and Osamu’s wishes, it was Atsumu taking any opportunity he could to protect his family. He knew he’d regret it if he didn’t at least  _ try _ . It was because of Osamu’s words that he realized this - he needed to protect his twin brother. Osamu might hate him if he found out, but it was worth the risk if it meant he could stop this whole problem sooner.

So, instead of going back to the room to attempt once again to fall asleep, he quietly shuffled to the front of the house, opening the front door with such caution and care as if his life depended on it. When he pulled it back closed after having stepped outside, holding his breath tight, he mentally apologized to everyone in advance if he fucked up or came back empty handed. He couldn’t quite explain why, but he needed to do this. It’d be about nine at night in the human world. He had enough time. Eyes and ears alert, he carefully scurried out of Kita’s home in search of the portal between realms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alas, we have arrived at the second installment. Honestly, I get a lot of my ideas for this story as I'm driving and blasting Lorde, so if that means anything at all- Imagine me, driving my car on my way from school, and just GASPING as I realize where I want to go with this, but I'm going 50mph and I need to focus. It's truly living.
> 
> ALSO, the flashback scene and the dialogue from Osamu at the end of the chapter are both heavily inspired by a little comic by nadaboodraws on Tumblr that actually urged me into writing this fic! Here's the link if you wanna check it out, it's so nice to look at (I love their style sm): https://nadaboodraws.tumblr.com/post/172152233317/twins-please-dont-fight-left-to-right-fan
> 
> ANYWAY HAVE A GOOD DAY, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED, AND SEE YA NEXT WEEK!! :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **content warning: mild gore, gory imagery**

Atsumu prowled alongside the house, eyes watchful through the trees that surrounded Kita’s lawn of any of the senior members who may be out on watch. Even if his eyes were accustomed to the dark, it still made his skin crawl with anticipation as to what lay beyond the forest. The fog in the air was just thick enough to leave an air of uncertainty as he tried to escape. He had to be fast - not only because the sooner he got to the portal, the sooner he could get back, but because he didn’t want to hang around long enough to get caught. Kita did say if he tried anything, he  _ and _ Osamu would get punished. At least if he left and returned faster than they realized he was gone, he’d get off the hook. Regardless, his heart thundered in his chest as he sniffed the air.

Akagi was the one out right now, which wasn’t ideal in the slightest. Akagi’s power was the ability to speed things up - he could make any aspect of a human’s life faster, ranging from a certain skill they learn or even actually making them run quicker. In consequence, Akagi had mastered being able to make  _ himself  _ faster, so much so to the point that he bordered on sporadic in all his movements and mood swings. Despite his best efforts, Akagi can become impulsive and unnecessarily angry in tense moments. If Atsumu ran and Akagi caught sight of him, it was over.

He couldn’t just stand there, he knew. Taking the main path that led out the front door was stupid, and he couldn’t go in the back and around because Osamu and Suna were probably still there. He closed his eyes, taking in the air slowly through his nose in hopes of pinpointing exactly where Akagi was.

A sound to his left, the other side of the forest. His ear snapped there and he knew that’s where Akagi must be. His scent was stronger in that direction anyway. There was no time to waste. Hesitating ever so slightly, he took off stealthily right, the way towards the portal. Even as he entered the forested area and gradually picked up speed, the adrenaline that burst through him nearly made him stumble. But he suppressed it - now wasn’t the time to freak out. His vision tunnelled as he ran, hopping over and sidestepping every branch and vine and bush and tree as if it were second nature. No time to think, you just have to run.

When he heard the ever approaching steps of Akagi’s smaller feet behind him, though, his heart dropped and he nearly fell right there. “Fuck!” he hissed under his breath, turning further right than he needed to be.

“Atsumu, is that you?” Akagi half-shouted from somewhere in the forest. His voice echoed throughout the trees and Atsumu didn’t know how close he was. His breath sped up as Akagi continued, a growl, “I was almost hopin’ ya’d try to run! When I get my hands on ya, you’re gonna regret everything.”

Akagi was gaining incredibly quickly. Dodging another tree to change directions, Atsumu called back, “Akagi-san, listen, it’s not what you think-”

“Oh it’s exactly what I think! Not sure if yer the killer, but it ain’t lookin’ too good for-”

“I didn’t kill him, you have to believe me!” As the words left his mouth, a deadly claw swiped past his ear. It took everything in Atsumu not to yelp as he quickly dodged another, feeling Akagi use his back as a platform to jump through the air. He was pushed down, but he yanked his face away just in time as another hand zipped right in front of his nose. He stared at Akagi, his gaze was intense and his teeth appearing sharper than Atsumu ever thought they were. His ears were flat against his head as he tensed to attack Atsumu again.

Atsumu's breath was heavy as he almost smiled, “Akagi-senpai, can’t we talk abou- shit!” 

He leaped into the air as Akagi lunged at him. Akagi was quick, and while Atsumu definitely wasn’t quicker, he at least had the instinct to dodge as much as possible. Having landed on his feet, Atsumu took off running again, but was pulled back by the collar of his robes before he could go far. He choked as Akagi threw him down, and for a moment everything went black since his head richhoteted off the ground. 

Stomping a foot on Atsumu’s chest to keep him down, Akagi leaned in to snap, “The hell you doin’ out here, Atsumu? I thought you’d at least have the brains to not do stupid shit when Kita-san left, but apparently not.”

“I need to find more information,” Atsumu struggled out, his throat ragged and his heart beating far too fast. “I need to get to the-”

“The human world, huh?” leaning on his knee, Akagi tilted his head in disappointment. “Man, Kita was right on the mark too. He warned us you’d be wanting to escape. It sucks I gotta drag you back to Aran and watch you ‘n Osamu get the shit beat outta ya-”

“Akagi-san, please listen to me.” Atsumu lifted a hand and grabbed Akagi’s ankle, his eyes pleading, “The faster I find out what the humans know about the foxes, the faster we could find out who killed Kurosu. It can’t wait until tomorrow, who knows what could happen?”

Kita frowned, a more somber expression on his features. “Nothing’s happening tonight, kid. Kita warned you about leavin’ and yet you still push on ahead without any regard for the guild. It’ll be too late by the time you even make it the human world, you’ll get trapped there, and then what?”

Almost glaring, Atsumu said quietly, “Why stop searching? We need to know what’s happening-”

“Atsumu-kun, you’re over yer head. You alone can’t solve what’s happenin’, you need to wait and be patient. If Kurosu were here-”

“If Kurosu were here, we wouldn’t be having this problem, would we?”

Akagi sighed through his nose, closing his eyes. He stared down at Atsumu’s fiery gaze for a heartbeat before saying, “I know you. You take risks and you push for what you want despite everyone else. I’d even say you’re faster than me, since nobody can keep up with ya. But there are some things out of your control, and you gotta learn to slow down every now and again. I’m not sayin’ you should stop being angry - I’m angry too, and so is Osamu and Suna and everyone else. Before you get all in your head about everything depending on you, can ya at least think about how your actions will affect others?”

Closing his eyes, Atsumu drew in a deep breath. There was a moment of silence between them as Atsumu soaked in what he was being told, allowing himself to calm down. His voice was barely a whisper, “But I need to protect ‘Samu…”

“Your brother doesn’t need protecting,” Akagi smiled softly. “Besides, he’s got the whole guild protecting him too. That’s what families are for, right?”

Atsumu lifted the hand that clasped Akagi’s ankle to his face, rubbing his eyes. Akagi was right, but damn, did it hurt. Defeated, he laughed a little, “So, you’re outing me to Aran and I’m gonna get beat, is that right?”

“Despite my better judgement, no.” Atsumu drew his hand away, looking up at him incredulously. Akagi leaned away - more like jumped - and took his foot off Atsumu’s chest, allowing him to sit up as he said, “I think you learned your lesson. I won’t tell Aran as long as you go right back to bed and stay there. This is the first and last time I’ll let ya off the hook.”

As Atsumu stood, wiping off the dirt from his clothes, he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, “Actually, didn’t you catch Osamu and I drawing on Aran’s face as he slept when we were kits and you didn’t say anythin’ since you wanted to draw something too?”

“Well, that was centuries ago-”

“Or the time you found Osamu and me tripping some runners in a track meet and you just couldn’t get us in trouble because it was funny?”

“Atsumu, don’t make me change my mind.”

Atsumu grinned, “Ah, you got me.” He looked away, crossing one of his arms over himself. He added on quietly while his ears twitched, “Thank you, Akagi-san.”

“Even if ya don’t look it, you’re still a dumb kid as far as I’m concerned,” Akagi placed his hands on his hips, a smug smile plastered across his face.

Nodding curtly, Atsumu pulled his lips to a line, “Cuts deep, my friend.”

“I’m joking. Get some sleep, please. You didn’t hear this from me, but we’re putting you to work tomorrow, so be ready.” He patted the side of Atsumu’s shoulder, “It’ll be okay, y’know.”

Following their encounter, Atsumu snuck back into the house and picked his way to his bedding without so much of a rustle. Osamu and Suna had returned to their beds not too long after Atsumu did, which was a good thing since Osamu would probably panic if he noticed his brother missing. Still, it didn’t stop the twinge of resentment he felt towards Suna as he whispered a goodnight to Osamu. Surprisingly, his attempts to sleep were more successful than they had been earlier that night, and it didn’t take too much longer for him to nestle into unconsciousness.

What came quicker than the sleep itself was the nightmare that followed. Atsumu was in the dark, dark forest again, but this time he was stationed in front of the portal between realms. It was carved into a hill, tall and sturdy despite the literal eons it stood, offering a place of entry for anyone it saw fit. With mossy deep gray bricks that had runes and symbols of the Firsts, it glowed before Atsumu as he stared into it. He couldn’t see anything but pale yellow light in the entry, and even then he was pulled into it. The temptation to enter was oddly overwhelming. But before he could make a move, there was a firm voice behind him, “Just what do you think you’re doing, Atsumu?”

Whipping his head around, Atsumu caught sight of KIta. He was no longer any other member - nine bushy white tails bloomed out from behind him and his eyes were lined with the ceremonial red markings of a Master. That wasn’t the only thing different about Kita, Atsumu realized as he involuntarily shrunk away in fear. Kita’s eyes were only slits, cold and unfeeling. In his hands was none other than a katana, the long blade planted in the ground in front of him. Everything in Atsumu’s body told him to be very, very afraid of the danger before him.

Kita moved slowly, almost robotic, as he tilted his head. His voice was empty, it lightly echoed, “Why are you frightened?”

Atsumu’s ears were glued to the back of his head as he took another step back. “Kita-san, what’s going on?” he asked, his voice shaking. 

“You trust me, don’t you?” Kita ignored the question. Atsumu couldn’t answer as he stared his Master up and down. When a few seconds had passed, Kita said in an observational tone, “So you don’t.”

“Well when yer getting all creepy like that, I don’t know if I can,” the words tumbled out of his mouth. Atsumu was tense, ready to spring away at any moment.

Kita only pinned Atsumu down with just his gaze, and Atsumu soon put together he hadn’t blinked at all. He finally spoke again, looking down at the blade in his hands, “It’s a good thing you care so much about family - admirable, even. But hang on tighter than you should, boy, and you’ll realize far too late the shadow doesn’t flow far from the dismal depths of the night. Even the shiny pillars you hold so dear are not as bright as they seem.”

No words came as he opened his mouth to speak. Atsumu glanced behind him, at the now blindingly bright portal that burned his eyes. Blinking away, when he turned back to face Kita, his heart stopped and his eyes widened. Osamu was now standing next to Kita, his gaze wild and looking around in a panicked way. Atsumu whispered, “What… ‘Samu, what are ya…”

Osamu couldn’t move from his stoic position as he screamed, “Help! Fuck, please someone help me!”

Standing up straighter, Atsumu wanted to move towards him, but for a reason unknown to him his feet were planted to the ground. He yelled back, “Hey, ‘Samu, I’m right here-”

“Shit!” Osamu cried, his breathing coming out fast and shallow. Atsumu realized Osamu couldn’t hear him. Osamu continued to try to move, almost like something was gripped around him as he struggled, “‘Tsumu! Shit, ‘Tsumu, where are ya?!”

Tears bubbled out of Atsumu’s eyes. “I’m here, ‘Samu, I’m right here.” Atsumu leaned forward as much as he could, even if his arms were stuck as if people were holding him back, “Osamu!”

Osamu shut his eyes tight, even his voice was ripped apart as he yelled back, “Atsumu!”

Before long, Kita gripped the hilt of the katana, pulling it out of the ground. Atsumu’s blood ran cold as he watched him lift the sword, almost as if he could see what was happening in slow motion. “Kita, stop!” he screamed, pulling on the forces holding him back. He felt the tag on his ear heating up as he used all his might, struggling and waving around in a panic, “Don’t! Please, I’m beggin’ ya!” 

Kita didn’t pay any attention. As Atsumu screamed on, Kita stationed his arm in front of himself while he prepared to strike. He couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t  _ move _ . He felt the desperation tearing up his insides. Atsumu tasted blood, and his vision went red. The tag on his ear was on fire as he felt power surge through him, and all his instincts were directed to stopping Kita.

Just as Atsumu broke free of the odd forces and launched forward, he watched as Kita swiped up his blade, a clean, even movement. Blood splattered the ground and flung across Atsumu’s face. He scrambled to a stop, his breathing almost ceased completely. Osamu’s screaming was nothing more than a gurgle, and soon nothing. There wasn’t a single sound as Osamu’s severed head slipped off his neck and fell soullessly to the ground. It moved slow, so very slow, and Atsumu watched in complete and utter horror.

The moment the head hit the dirt, Atsumu rocketed awake. His gaze was blurry but he whipped around himself anyway, his breathing fast. He almost screamed, had he not stopped to blink his eyes against the warm morning light that filtered in the room. He wasn’t in the deep forest, with Kita standing before him, with the portal enticing him in against his own will, with Osamu beheaded before he could move - Atsumu was sitting in the very early morning as the rest of the guild slept. A quick glance, and he found Osamu safely sleeping with his tail rested on his nose, his neck very much intact.

“Damn,” Atsumu whispered under his breath, wiping the cold sweat that rested on his forehead. So much for getting a good sleep like Akagi instructed him to.

He didn’t have time to dwell on this nightmare as he caught Suna sliding open his eyes at him, boring into his soul as they always seemed to do. He muttered, his head resting back against the bedding, “You seem well.”

“I’m perfectly fine,” he brushed it away, even if the fear still clung to his ribs. “Nothin’ like a bit of a scare to get you up in the morning, am I right?”

Suna breathed a laugh through his nose as his eyes fluttered shut again. He lightly grinned as he said, “Hey, I’ve been meaning to say, sorry for last night. I’m just a bit freaked out and I didn’t think about what I was saying. Kita-san can’t be the killer, and I know that. He wouldn’t do that, right?”

The images of Kita from his dream flashed in Atsumu’s mind, and he relived the spike of horror as he sliced Osamu right open. Deep in his heart, there was a twinge of uncertainty at Suna’s words. But instead, he shrugged, “Nah, he wouldn’t. And I’m sorry too, I shouldn’t have yelled at ya like that.”

Opening one mischievous eye back open again, Suna teased, “My stars, was that a genuine apology from  _ The _ Miya Atsumu?”

“Don’t get off on it,” Atsumu rubbed the sleep from his eyes even if he couldn’t imagine sleeping ever again after that. “I’m goin’ for a walk, if anyone asks.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” said Suna as he sat up, swiping his nose a few times. He sniffed before he continued, “Aran might be on your ass about leaving without permission. I’m surprised you’re still here anyway.”

Pulling his lips to a tight smile as he thought about the night before, Atsumu lightly laughed, “I am too. But, maybe you’re right. Something tells me I’m already on their shit list.”

Suna’s lazy eyes lingered on him in a way that made Atsumu self-conscious, but that could very well be him being frazzled over the dream. Atsumu stood, tearing his gaze away as he stretched and tried to keep the worry from rising in his throat. Searching for something to talk about to fill the awkward silence, Atsumu said the first thing that came to mind, “So, Sunarin… what’s with you and ‘Samu?”

When Suna hesitated to answer, Atsumu instantly regretted it. “What do you mean?” Suna said slowly, not letting any specific emotion through.

Atsumu shrugged, “Ah, y’know, he just seems… weirdly protective of ya. Or, well, not protective, but maybe, like…”

“You mean you think your brother and I are fucking, is that it?”

“Wow, no need to be so blunt!”

“Someone around here has to,” Suna rolled his eyes. He crossed his arms, “No, we’re not engaging in any kind of specific relationship. Though, I do acknowledge he thinks highly of me, and I think the same of him.”

Atsumu frowned ever so slightly. “Why do I feel like you’re lyin’, Suna?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time, Atsumu,” Suna shot back. He said flatly, “You have every right not to believe me, ask Osamu yourself. All I know is he trusts me more than you do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Suna’s lips pulled to a smile once more, but his thin eyes told a different story, “For someone who preaches family and sticking together, your trust issues are quite incredible. I don’t know what I did to make you wary of me, but I can assure you I only want the best for you and Osamu.”

Putting his hands on his hips, Atsumu huffed, “I’m not wary of you.”

“Who’s the liar now?” Suna sighed. As always, his words were right to the point, “Look, I’m not as sold on this whole family idea you got going on, but I just want to know what I can do to make you trust me.”

“Hey, I never said I don’t trust you” Atsumu began to glare. He suddenly became aware of the rustling of the other members around as they’d soon wake. He kept his voice low, “You’re an asshole, you know. But you’re still my family. I ain’t lying when I say I’d protect you even if I died doin’ it. You’d do the same for me, right?”

Suna nodded, staring into Atsumu’s gaze as if he was searching for something more. Atsumu continued nonetheless, “Then I got no problem with ya. Just… take care of Osamu every now and then.”

“Aw, how sweet,” Suna mused. “Almost as if you actually care about people other than yourself.”

“Shut yer trap. How does Osamu even tolerate you?”

“Hey, Osamu isn’t a petty assbag.”

“Oh, I beg to differ.”

…

Even after washing himself in the river behind Kita’s backyard, Atsumu couldn’t shake the endless thoughts and relivings of his dream. He would have begun deciphering what it meant, but given the context and what took place, he knew he wouldn’t like the answer. Sheltered by the expanses of trees, he simply stood in the river as it flowed past his ankles, staring at the water as if it would give him the answers. Every time he imagined Osamu, writhing in fear against invisible clamps upon his body only to be cut off - literally - by way of beheading, a shiver ran down his spine. He wrapped his arms around himself, overthinking and overthinking and overthinking some more. And ever present was the nagging voice that told him to run off and go back to Sakusa, to find out what he knew. The words of Kita, Osamu, and Akagi kept him there, even if reluctantly. Even he knew he could potentially cause more trouble than solving it by taking a risk such as that.

When he thought about Kita returning from his induction that day as he pulled on his clothes, he absolutely detested the strike of worry that flew through him. He knew Kita would be back with the nine tails and the marks that sharpened his eyes, and in turn he’d be the same image of Kita that Atsumu saw in his dream. Cold, unfeeling, ruthless… While he was aware it wasn’t really Kita, he couldn’t stop the echoing of his empty words, “ _ But hang on tighter than you should, boy, and you’ll realize far too late the shadow doesn’t flow far from the dismal depths of the night. Even the shiny pillars you hold so dear are not as bright as they seem. _ ”

By the time he met back up with the Guild to reconvene for plans for the day, he made the executive decision to push the thoughts away. Among his perusal of all the events that had happened the past few days, one was still another point in the back of his mind - the words Osamu spoke to Suna that he overheard. As the two of them sat at the table in the same places they did the night before, Atsumu asked him casually after swallowing some of the rabbit stew Osamu made, “Did you get a good sleep last night?”

Osamu blinked at him, taking a few seconds to answer. “Did anybody?” he remarked right back, an amused tilt of his words.

“I guess you’re right,” Atsumu smiled. “Surprised I didn’t wake up to the house lit on fire as well.”

Osamu paused from sipping the broth of his stew to say, “Well I’m surprised I didn’t wake up to find you missin’ in the human world.” Atsumu heard Suna chuckle a bit from the other side of his brother as he read his book.

“You expect so little of me, ‘Samu, it’s quite insulting!”

“And you don’t give me reasons to expect more.”

“Ouch.”

After everybody had eaten and spoken together, as if for just a moment the pressing concerns of the day hadn’t existed and they were all a normal Guild again, Aran called attention at the front of the table. “Last night, I was discussin’ with Omimi and Akagi about what to do moving forward. Considering we won’t see Kita for another few hours and we still need to get our Guild Hall up and running again, as well as the fact we don’t have any prime suspects, we thought it best to split up for some time. The senior members will begin preparations to get the Guild Hall back up while the rest of you will disperse to the domains of other guilds to do some…”

“Espionage?” Ginjima suggested with a grin.

Aran warily smiled back, “Not quite, but that’ll do. I want you all in pairs to go to the Guilds of the land to tell of the news of our current situation and if they knew anything at all. Do not tell any Guild leader specifically where we are stayin’, we don’t quite need that information out yet, and I’d prefer we kept most conversation to just the Masters, just in case.”

Going along with the plan, everyone had split into duos quite easily, and of course the twins had chosen each other on default. Aran distributed out the Guilds everyone was to visit, and upon this news, Atsumu was quite delighted, “Aw hell yeah! I getta talk to Shouyou-kun!”

“Why are you so excited?” Osamu rolled his eyes on their way there. “It’s not like we’re goin’ to chat, we’re about to tell them what’s happened to our Guild and our Master.”

Atsumu waved his hand dismissively, “Well yeah, but I still get to see Shouyou-kun. Ah, and Tobio-kun too, hm.”

“Is Ukai still the Master of Karasuno?” Osamu wondered allowed, looking up in thought. “Or is it that… smaller one?”

“I’m pretty sure they changed their Guild to have a mini council instead of a Master and his apprentice sort of thing.”

“Jeez, those crows are real weird.”

“Exciting, more like.”

Once they had reached the sector of Karasuno, where the grass was a bit drier and the trees had shifted from mighty oaks to stable pines, they followed the stone path to the Karasuno Hall with more than enough comments and jokes between them. The neighborhoods of Karasuno were alight with chatter and liveliness, though not without a few concerned looks in the direction of the Inarizaki guests. As they walked, Atsumu glanced over at a small crow as she stared up at them. He grinned widely, showing off every one of his sharp teeth, and in turn the girl scurried away with a small scream. Osamu punched his shoulder and he punched back with a cackle. 

They had just approached some black iron gates when a call sounded from the skies, “Ah, are those some fox bastards from Inarizaki I spot?”

Both twins looked up as the flap of crow wings snapped above them. Nishinoya of Karasuno - also known as the Guardian of Karasuno - perched himself easily on the gates, grinning down at the twins as his magnificent black wings stretched out before him. Atsumu was wide eyed and smiling excitedly as Nishinoya continued, in a much more friendly tone, “What brings you here, fellas? Heard you got some trouble back at your place. Is everything okay?”

“Not exactly, no,” Osamu answered truthfully. “We came to discuss some things with your Master on Kita-san’s behalf.”

Nishinoya brought a hand to his chin, humming as he considered. “Well, I  _ would _ let you guys in, but I might need to ask for some specifics given all the stuff going on…”

“Dude, your wings are so awesome,” Atsumu said wistfully. “What’s it like to fly that high with those things?”

Osamu elbowed him, muttering crossly, “Have some tact, idiot. Not like we’re-”

“Man, why didn’t you say so!” Nishinoya laughed, puffing his chest out. His cheeks were dusted a light pink at the praise, “Flying’s gotta be the coolest thing, y’know! I mean sometimes I fly so much my wings get tired and I gotta, like, stop, and flying a lot makes me more hungry, but it’s a great stress reliever. I think everyone should be able to try real flying at least once in their life.” He blinked down at the twins for a few seconds before asking, “Wait, what were we talking about again?”

“Seeing your Master?” Osamu offered gently.

Nishinoya sat up straighter, “Ah, right! Come on in, dudes.”

As the Guardian flapped his wings to open up the gate, Atsumu sent a smug grin to Osamu. He scoffed, crossing his arms but without another response. They walked together through the gates, and Atsumu waved a genuine thanks to Nishinoya as they stepped up to the doors. Unlike Inarizaki, whose large doors were only able to be opened by Inarizaki members, Karasuno’s doors were always set wide open in a welcoming way. So, as soon as Atsumu and Osamu had walked up the steps, an excited call came from deep within the building, “Hey! It’s Atsumu-san!”

Atsumu grinned at the bright smile that welcomed him, “Shouyou-kun! Lovely to see you again!”

Hinata had flown above the group of crows, who all turned to look at the visiting foxes as they sat and chatted at separate tables, even if his take off was a bit wonky. He almost stumbled as he landed again, lifting both his hands in front of him, “How are you guys doing? I was gonna say something when I went to help put out the fires at your Guild Hall, but Suga said it wasn’t a good time.”

Meeting his outstretched hands with two high fives, Atsumu nodded, “Yeah, that definitely wouldn’t have been a good time. I think right now we’re tryin’ to pick ourselves back up.”

“Literally and figuratively,” Osamu added on as he took in the happy orange spirit in front of him. “We got some senior members working to get the Hall back up again.”

“That’s good to hear, I really hope everyone’s doing all right,” said Sugawara as he stepped up to the twins as well. He waved them in, “You guys want anything to eat or drink?”

Osamu asked as he was led in by the two, “Do you guys happen to have rice?”

“He wants onigiri is what he’s sayin’,” Atsumu specified.

Sugawara clapped his hands, “We do! Kiyoko and I can get some out for you.”

The twins watched curiously as the friendly gray-haired spirit pulled an admittedly beautiful lady aside to take into a separate room. Atsumu whispered to his brother, “Hey, when are we gonna get a pretty fox girl back home?”

“Shut up, idiot,” Osamu snapped back as he shook his head from any particular thoughts that may have popped up.

“What can we do for you two?” a voice pulled them from their internal conversation. Daichi, one of the heads of the Karasuno Guild, stood before them with a kind smile. All the other members had donned black body suits exposing up to their shoulders and halfway down their thighs, with orange and white accessories such as capes or light robes decorated with crow feathers or sticks, but Daichi had a special crown upon his head, a golden and simple ring that circled his hair snugly. It really made such a non-impressive spirit stand out, in Atsumu’s eyes, even if the crown was barely considered unique.

Atsumu was the one who answered, “We’re here to talk with you, or whoever’s running your guild. We got some questions regarding the recent incidents we had at home.”

His eyebrows pulling together sympathetically, Daichi nodded, “Ah, that makes sense. Sorry again about what happened back there. I’ll go make sure Ukai and Takeda are open to talk, please make yourself at home.”

As Daichi flapped away, Atsumu watched him tuck into an entry that was seemingly in the middle of the wall, without so much as a ladder or flight of stairs leading up to it. Atsumu smiled a bit until one of the members - Tanaka, was it? - slapped him on the shoulder in a friendly manner, “Lucky you dudes came when you did! We finished up all our jobs early today since all the stuff happening over there is weirding us out.”

“You don’t say,” Atsumu hummed curiously. “What about it has been weird?”

Tanaka shrugged, “It’s not every day some wacko’s sabotaging another Guild in the human world  _ and _ here. We wanna stay out of making it worse as much as possible.”

“Besides,” added on another member, one Atsumu didn’t recognize, “if the one who’s doing this plans to target anyone else, failing to lay low may end up with our Guild getting hit too.”

“It seems to be getting worse too,” offered another voice. Atsumu’s gaze landed on Kageyama as he stood nearby, his arms crossed and his wings neatly folded behind him

Atsumu’s smile this time was tight, “Ah, Tobio-kun! It’s great to see ya too.”

Stiff and even as he always seemed to be, Kageyama only nodded in greeting, “Hey.”

Before Atsumu could land any more jabs, Osamu piped in, “Wait, what do you mean it’s getting worse?”

Hinata leaned in at Kageyama’s side, informing, “Well, today Jerkyama and I- ow! I mean  _ Kage _ yama and I were out doing our duties when we found out that there have been four more cases of fox attacks since last night.”

“Four?!” Atsumu repeated, his eyebrows lifting in shock. He instantly thought back to Sakusa and his persistence to pull through with whatever case he had to make for the Tokyo victim. There was a twinge of regret as he thought of what might have happened if he ignored Akagi and ran out the portal last night anyway.

Hinata nodded, a grave expression resting on his face, “Did you not know?”

The fox spirits looked at each other, words unspoken between them. From only four cases spaced out among months on end without anyone knowing to another four in just one night? Before either twin could say anything, Daichi called from the opening in the wall above, “Atsumu-kun, Osamu-kun, we’re ready for you. Someone tell Suga and Kiyoko to bring the onigiri rolls up to the Nest for us.”

Atsumu blinked up at the height of the wall, “One small problem, chief, how’re we getting up there?”

Daichi lifted a finger to tell them to wait as he leaned down to pick something up. From the lip of the Nest, a ladder pushed out and ran down the side of the wall, clanking as it went. It was raggedy even from where the twins stood. Daichi brought a hand to the back of his head as he said apologetically, “We don’t usually have too many visitors who can’t fly. We’ve been meaning to fix this, sorry guys.”

Taking in a deep breath of patience, Atsumu let Osamu respond this time, “No worries, we’ll be fine.”

“I’m going up first,” Atsumu mumbled as he and his brother made their way to the ladder.

“In your dreams, punk.”

They pushed and shoved each other once they reached the ladder, and it took a solid few seconds for Osamu to end up grabbing on and heading up first, his tongue stuck out mockingly. It was a careful procedure, working their way up the four meter tall ladder, but before long they ended up pulling themselves into the Nest, albeit a tad disgruntled.

“Welcome to Karasuno, boys,” the friendly gravel of Master Ukai greeted once both twins managed to enter the room. “Please, have a seat.”

The Nest was a small cove, lined with sticks and feathers and different pebbles on the walls in a way that was oddly cozy. The ceiling was low but it somehow added to the warmth. A window shone on the far side, outlining Ukai, Daichi, and the other man Atsumu forgot the name of as they sat on cushions. Atsumu nearly jumped when a soft crow feather fluttered in front of him, his tail freezing for a moment. He picked it up, then offered it to Osamu with a wide smile. Osamu looked at it fleetingly before slapping it away, and had Atsumu been anywhere else, he would’ve jumped on him for that.

They sat on the two seats that faced the Karasuno council, perking up as the other man said, “It’s great to see Inarizaki already up and going since what happened. In case you forgot, I’m Takeda, this is Master Ukai, and that’s Daichi. We make up the leadership here at Karasuno, so whatever is said to Ukai can be said to all of us.”

“Lovely,” Atsumu commented absentmindedly as his curious eyes searched around the room.

Ukai crossed his arms, his gaze flicking between the two of them, “You’ll have to excuse me, but which one of you is which? I ain’t that old but it seems to have slipped my memory.”

Osamu lifted a finger to himself, then his brother, respectively, “I’m Osamu, this is Atsumu.”

“I’ll try to remember well,” he cracked another smile. He soon got a bit more serious as he asked, “Well, what can we do for you?”

Throwing a light glance at his brother, Atsumu spoke slowly, “Well, we came to ask if you happen to have any new information at all that could help us. We’re tryin’ to stop whatever's happening as soon as possible, as you can assume.”

Takeda nodded sincerely, dark thought arising on his brow, “Of course. If I remember correctly, there isn’t anything new since the time we met with Master Kurosu the other night, unfortunately.”

“Oh,” Daichi added in, “actually, there were more cases of the fox attacks, according to Kageyama and Hinata.”

“So we’ve heard,” the corners of Atsumu’s lips lifted - not with amusement, rather the ghost of a grimace.

Osamu’s tail was lightly swishing behind him, much like humans as they tap their foot impatiently, “Where were these attacks? The first four took weeks to even crop up on our radar, but now they seem to have increased exponentially in just a few hours.”

It was Daichi again who responded, “All four were in the Kansai region, and from what we gathered they didn't seem very spread out from each other.”

“We?” Atsumu murmured, flicking his intent gaze at Daichi. “Thought ya said only Shouyou-kun and Tobio-kun saw?”

“Well they alerted Tanaka almost as soon as they realized what was happening, and then they called me.”

He narrowed his eyes, thick suspicion lining his voice, “Funny how we’re just hearing this news now, isn't it? I mean it sounds like you’ve been staying back here for a while now since you finished all yer jobs early.”

Daichi paused, taking in Atsumu’s words carefully. The corners of his lips tightened, asking, “What are you saying?”

“I don't know, chief,” Atsumu tilted his head, dropping all cordiality from moments before. “Why don't you help me figure it out?”

“‘Tsumu,” Osamu quietly warned as all three crows bristled, straightening their posture or stretching out their wings a bit.

Ukai studied Atsumu warily, his tone a bit less warm than when they first entered, “We thought you knew what was happening, kid.”

“But if our Master’s down for the count and our Guild Hall is burnt to a crisp, how would we know about this? Why would we head out to the human world in our current state?”

A chiseled eyebrow shot up, making Ukai seem quite threatening, “Listen to what you’re saying. At the end of the day, we have to look after our own asses. I hate seeing you all go through this, and losing Kurosu was a damn tragedy, but at a time like this, we don’t have the luxury to be your messenger owls.”

It was times like these when Atsumu truly wished he had the same bullshit detector as Kita. He stared Ukai down, searching his posture and his eyes for any hints or clues of something beneath the surface. The cozy atmosphere of the Nest had gone cold in a snap. Everyone was shifting uncomfortably underneath the new tension. Atsumu didn't believe - or, didn't want to believe - that Karasuno was involved in the schemes. But he’d be damned if he didn't push, just in case.

Before anyone could say anything more, a friendly voice broke the air from behind, “Excuse me! Ah, sorry it took so long, our rice cookers didn't seem to be…” Sugawara stood in the entrance of the Nest, clearly having noticed the seriousness of it all a bit too late. He was suddenly awkward as he said lightly, “Am I interrupting…?”

“You're fine, Suga,” Daichi lifted a hand, grunting a bit to ease some tension. “Thank you very much.”

He smiled warily, nodding as he entered, “Okay, my bad. Here you go, Osamu-kun, we hope you enjoy.”

Osamu didn't say anything as Sugawara placed the plate of three onigiri rolls on the mat in front of him, other than a mumbled thanks that even Atsumu barely heard. If the food was offered to Atsumu, he probably would’ve been too on edge to even consider eating, but Osamu wasted no time sniffing the air and fixedly staring at the meal before him. As Sugawara ducked out as quick as he could, Osamu picked up an onigiri delicately and went on his merry way.

Though it made Atsumu nearly regret everything he’s ever done, watching his brother be so entranced with food when there were important matters afoot, it did well in relieving the odd stress that preceded the interaction. Takeda chuckled quietly and Daichi seemed to have gotten a grip of himself once again, allowing everyone a second to breathe. Ukai brought a hand down his face as he said, “Unfortunately, there's nothing else we know. As far as we’re concerned, nothing strange has been happening around here that could help.”

Atsumu breathed out impatiently, looking away. Frustration had begun to set in, and with the newly reignited internal debate of escaping to the human world despite Kita’s wishes, he was quite unhappy with the lack of results. He tapped his thumb against his leg, asking, “Are ya sure you haven’t seen anything, or anyone? Do you have any ideas of who could be out to take us down?”

All three were silent, even Daichi shook his head slowly. Osamu lowered the half eaten onigiri, swallowing before he said, “You have connections to certain Guilds that we don’t, namely Nekoma and Fukurodani. Since this seems to be somethin’ months in the making, can you think of anything at all between the two of them?”

“I’m not too keen on throwing our allies under the bus,” said Ukai, not quite aggressively, but more wearily honest. “That being said, neither Nekomata nor Bokuto have been in suspicious behavior. I’m truly sorry we could not be of more help.”

“Dammit,” Atsumu hissed under his breath, glaring at the ground.

Osamu was licking off his fingers before saying to his brother, “Hey, there could be more information from everyone else when they come back. This isn’t the end all be all.”

“I know, I’m just frustrated,” he grumbled, crossing his arms and looking away. “I was just hoping to come away with answers sooner than later.”

“Excuse me.” Both twins turned back to the entrance as another guest flapped on in. A tall, blonde member of the Karasuno Guild stood, eyes skeptical as he eyed the visiting foxes. He looked up to Ukai, “I’m not interrupting anything, am I? I have some news that might be valuable.”

Atsumu’s eyes flashed, though Ukai had spoken before he could, “Come on in, Tsukishima. Just in time, too.”

Tsukishima moved in just a few steps behind the twins as he spoke, “I’m not sure how far you guys have gotten in your investigations, but this was something too suspicious not to bring up. I was out flying back here a few minutes ago when I saw that Tendou freak from Shiratorizawa walking away from the forests.”

“Where were you coming back from?” Osamu pressed.

“That’s not what matters,” Tsukishima narrowed his eyes, frowning. “At first I thought he was heading back to the Shiratorizawa sector until I realized he was heading in the complete opposite direction. It looked like he was going to Inarizaki.”

Atsumu’s heart dropped. He asked Tsukishima hastily, his mind already racing to conclusions, “Did he have anything on him? Why didn’t you say something to him?”

“I didn’t want to get involved in something I wasn’t a part of, especially not with him,” he pushed up his glasses as he explained. “I now realize with everything happening, that should be something that’s brought up.”

“Ya don’t say! Thank you so much for the urgency, Glasses-kun,” Atsumu stood quickly, staring right into Tsukishima’s glare. Fear kicked up in his heart as he turned to Osamu, “That guy's definitely bad news. We gotta go. Now.”

Daichi piped up as Osamu got ready to leave too, “Wait, do you guys want someone to go with you? Just in case?”

“No thanks, you’ve helped enough.” Atsumu hoped the passive aggression was evident in his words. 

Osamu moved to pick up the other two onigiris from the plate as Atsumu brushed past Tsukishima to the entrance. He looked down at the ladder from where he stood, grunting with impatience. He took a step back, his heart thumping his chest, and he jumped off the platform. He landed on the ground easily, though he did stumble a bit since he dropped a knee to stabilize himself. It was no matter, though, he had more important priorities than awkward landings. He half-ran to the doors, hearing his brother drop down behind him.

“Atsumu-san, what’s happening?” Hinata appeared at his side and matched pace with him, his eyes full of worry.

“Those damn swans really couldn’t get any more power hungry,” Atsumu growled, adrenaline zinging through his fingertips. He looked to Hinata, trying his best to soften his tone, “Thank you for having us, Shouyou-kun, but we really need to go.”

As the twins quickly scurried out of the Guild Hall, Osamu scarfed down the last of the onigiris in less than two bites each. Atsumu eyed him as they approached the gates, “The hell is wrong with you?”

“I can’t go wastin’ good food,” he said, swiping his arm across his mouth, “even in an emergency.”

Together they levitated and flew through the air back towards Inarizaki with great hurry, searching for Tendou as they went. Atsumu couldn’t help but take note of the overcast clouds, making the dry landscape of Karasuno seem even more desolate. 

Was Tendou the one who killed Kurosu? Atsumu was brought back to their meeting the night before, when the senior members said Tendou was acting strange but Kita didn’t believe he was at fault.  _ But he’s always acting strange _ , Atsumu tried to convince himself, though looking at it now, he may have taken him for granted. He figured Tendou wouldn’t be able to pull off a plan on this scale, but he was a quick thinker underneath the guise of oddity. Regardless, Atsumu’s mind was immediately focusing on the worst case scenarios, and subconsciously he sped up just a little more as they raced on.

As they neared the Guild Hall, it didn’t take long to pick up the wacky tilt of Tendou’s voice in the distance, “...see how I can assist in preparations, my friends.”

“Fuck,” Atsumu said under his breath as the two of them turned the corner.

There Tendou was, standing in front of a confused Aran with a wide smile on his face. He turned quickly behind him, sensing the twins’ arrival, and at the sight of them his face lit up excitedly. As all members from Shiratorizawa did, there was a line of black skin across his large eyes, almost making them glow. It was, frankly, unsettling. He lifted his arms up, laughing, “Well what do we have here! The ragtag pair of foxy twins themselves!”

Both of them dropped to the ground, striding up to Aran and Tendou, hasty and concerned. Atsumu glared suspiciously at Tendou as he approached, his ears involuntarily flattening, “What are you doing here?”

Tendou tilted his head with a playful smile, his spiky hair rustling at the movement, “Whaddya mean? I came to help!”

“Alone?” Osamu’s tone was low, threatening, “Seems a bit odd, doesn’t it?”

“Atsumu, Osamu?” Aran interrupted stepping in between them and their visitor, “What’s going on? What did you find out from Karasuno?”

Tendou laughed, placing his hands on his hips, “Ah, did Mr. Normal Guy tell you I was coming? I saw him as I was coming, he didn’t even say hi!”

Not taking his eyes off Tendou, Atsumu explained, “Karasuno didn’t have any information, other than the fact there’ve been more cases of the foxes on Earth. That’s when Tsukishima came in to tell us this guy was actin’ suspicious on his way here.”

“Woah now, my friend,” Tendou took a step back, quirking an eyebrow. A darker tone had fallen on his voice, “I’d be careful throwing blame so very quickly. I get the fear from everything is getting to you, but you don’t have anything on me.”

Even Aran perked up at Tendou’s words. He turned to him, lacing his brow, “What was that?”

“You don’t have anything on me, or Wakatoshi, or anyone from my Guild,” he smiled in a friendly manner despite his threatening words. “Even your little buddies that visited our Guild - what were their names? They won’t be able to find anything suspicious. Why would Shiratorizawa want to cause a war, hm?”

Osamu crossed his arms, unimpressed, “You clearly don't have trouble acting on your own accord.”

Tendou’s eyelids were low as he smiled some more, “I love Waka-chan as much as the next, but sometimes I just like to have some fun. Believe me, I’m used to fellas like you being suspicious of me, but at the end of the day, I cause no harm.”

“Yo, what’s happening?” Everyone turned to see Ginjima and Suna walking up from the East, having just returned from Nekoma. Ginjima eyed Tendou with concern, “Why is he here?”

“Rintarou-kun!” Tendou exclaimed in a similar way to how he greeted the twins. Suna tensed at his words, knitting his eyebrows together uncomfortably. Atsumu felt Osamu stiffen beside him. Tendou crossed the space between them, his large white wings flapping, “It’s been far too long, buddy!”

Suna took a step back, pulling himself away. He looked Tendou up and down incredulously as he said, “The hell are you talking about?”

Tendou stopped quickly, dropping his arms. His shoulders sagged, and he murmured, deflated, “So it’s like that?”

“Hey, are you friends with his guy, Suna?” Atsumu asked, his gaze flicking between the two of them.

Looking back at Atsumu with a concerned glint in his eyes, Suna shook his head. “I suppose we’re acquainted, but I wouldn’t say friends. What is he doing here?”

“Ugh, how many times must I say I’m here to help!” bending down further, Tendou let his arms dangle in front of him. His long fingers brushed the ground as he whined, “Why is everyone here so skeptical? It’s bad for your health!”

Aran said in a low voice, narrowing his eyes, “We don’t usually receive help from Shiratorizawa. Besides, you seemed quick to blame Kurosu for feigning trouble just to cause havoc the other night. What’s really goin’ on here?”

Tendou straightened up in a snap, making everyone jump. He turned slowly to Aran, grinning, “You can’t blame me for looking at all options here. The last thing Shiratorizawa needs is Inarizaki breathing down our necks about whatever issue is happening. It was simply an act of good faith, but if you want me to go home, so be it!”

It took Aran a few seconds to speak as he studied Tendou some more. He finally said, “I think it’d be best if you leave here.”

The trees rustled in the wind that seemed to pick up. Tendou sighed dramatically, “Well if you insist. Rintarou-kun!” Suna’s attention jerked forward again as Tendou sung, “Walk me out, wouldja sweetie?”

“No, you can go back the way you came,” Osamu protested, moving away from his brother’s side. Atsumu ignored the twinge in his heart as Osamu harshly said, “I don’t know what-”

“It’s okay, Osamu,” Suna interrupted. His shock had quickly melted back to stoicism, his eyes returned to their lazy stare. “If it’ll get him out faster, I don’t care.”

Osamu huffed a bit, adding on, “Well, then I’m coming too.”

“Why?” Atsumu asked. He lifted an eyebrow when Osamu turned to him, almost wary. His mind flashed to his conversation with Suna that morning, when he insisted he and Osamu weren't in any kind of relationship, but he pushed it away.

Osamu began to glare, ticked off, and he waved his hand dismissively, “Shut up, ‘Tsumu.” His tone was salty, quiet. Atsumu blinked at him, confused and admittedly a bit hurt.

“Trouble in not-so-paradise,” Tendou hummed, a sing-song bend to his words.

Suna nodded curtly, moving to leave, “Fine then. Let’s go.”

Together they headed out as Tendou continued to sing under his breath without a care in the world. Atsumu tried to make eye contact with Osamu as he marched past, but his brother only kept his gaze straight ahead as he left. The empty feeling in Atsumu’s chest was unexplainable. He frowned at the ground below him, listening to their steps in silence.

“Four more attacks in just one night,” he muttered, mostly to himself. The uncertainty he’d been feeling ever since Kita’s warning seemed absent. He didn’t know what it was about that interaction that cleared his mind, but in that moment, the consequences didn’t seem as terrible.

Everything felt like it was going nowhere. Dead end after dead end after dead end. If I were to claim a moment when Atsumu truly decided his will was more important than anything around him, it would be here. His mind flashed back to Osamu’s words, the ones that spurred him on to leave the first time, and then to the nightmare, with Kita’s deadly stare and Osamu screaming for help. He turned his head up, a mysteriously confident expression on his face.

Aran could sense the energy around Atsumu. He raised a hand tentatively, “Hey, Atsumu. Are you okay?”

Turning to face Aran, Atsumu didn’t have anything to say. Thought clouded his expression as he hesitated there for a few heartbeats. Aran opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Atsumu marched off to the forest. He paid no mind to Aran and Ginjima’s calls of surprise as he sped up, nearly running in the direction of the portal between worlds. His resolve was far too strong, regardless of how suddenly it appeared.

He was full on sprinting by the time he entered the forest, knowing exactly the way to the portal. It was ingrained in his mind as a spirit of the world beyond the veil. Atsumu didn’t quite have a reason for exactly why he felt so inclined to run - perhaps watching everything he did the past handful of hours fail to come to fruition every single time was enough for him. He could no longer tolerate sitting around and waiting for something to happen. Though he had convinced himself he could actually do something at home, he was proven wrong again and again. He didn’t have the patience of Kita or the focus of Aran. No, he was at his wits end - a wild animal stuck in a cage, with all of the fears and doubts taunting him through the bars. 

Ginjima was right on him, following close - but not too close - behind. He kept shouting, “Dammit, Atsumu! The hell’s gotten into you now?”

Atsumu didn’t respond, just kept running, soon launching himself into his quick-travel levitating. As he flew around the trees, dodging each one in his way and ducking under fallen trunks, he mentally apologized to Kita for causing so much trouble, just around the time he was meant to arrive home too. He just had to know. He perked his ears, almost disappointed to hear Ginjima still keeping up.

It didn’t take long to break into the clearing that housed the portal. Unlike his dream from the night before, it didn’t shine blindingly like staring at the sun, instead it was pure blackness. It seemed even darker underneath the gloomy gray clouds that hung above. He slowed as he approached, staring up all the way to the top in slight amazement - it truly was a structure that sat since the beginning of time. But at the same time, it was just a bunch of old rocks. He turned to the entrance, unafraid, and sped in.

But, a hand on the back of his collar pulled him back, catching him off guard. “Get yer ass back here!” Ginjima screamed, throwing Atsumu to the ground. Atsumu made a choked yelp as his face hit the dirt.

Atsumu lifted a hand to his head, groaning, “That’s the second fuckin’ time-”

“Atsumu,” Ginjima panted out. He put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. “What… what the hell do ya think… yer doin’... Fuck, have you always been that fast?”

A bit winded himself, Atsumu leaned his head back against the ground to breathe. For a moment all that could be heard was heavy breathing and the chirps of birds as they tried to escape the impending storm. Atsumu said quietly, closing his eyes, “You gotta let me go, Gin.”

“I don’t gotta do shit,” he hissed. “Kita-san said not to go and dammit, if I gotta take you back kickin’ and screamin’, I will.”

“You really think ya can?” Atsumu opened one eye, smiling just a bit.

Ginjima looked confident, straightening up, “Yeah, I really do.”

He sighed a bit, trying to get his heartbeat to slow. But it didn’t, and he knew it wouldn’t. He was right there, so very close… He got to his feet gradually, making Ginjima tense up from where he stood in between Atsumu and the portal. Atsumu crossed his arms, a serious expression returned to his features, “Why won’t you let me?”

“Because Kita-san-”

“Forget Kita-san, why won’t  _ you _ let me go?” Ginjima blinked, taking in a breath through his nose. When he didn’t respond, Atsumu continued, “Gin, listen, I need to do this. Didja hear there were more attacks?”

Ginjima nodded curtly, “Yeah, I heard. I still don’t know why you’re itchin’ to get in here, I mean why’d you just take off like that?”

“I don’t have any more options. Sitting and waiting like this is eatin’ me alive.”

“Can’t ya just be patient a bit longer-”

“I’m done with being patient!” Atsumu threw up his hands, exasperated. “Think about it, okay? What do we know about these fox attacks? Virtually nothing, all we know is that they happened and it’s bad. If I go down there and find out some more information, we might be able to put together who in the world is doing this.”

Huffing, Ginjima looked down. His foot rapped impatiently on the ground as he thought, and the seconds of silence were too suspenseful for Atsumu’s liking. Ginjima finally said, “You know Kita will be back soon, right? Why not just wait for him to let you go?”

“Oh please, Kita wouldn’t let me go either way,” Atsumu remarked grimly. Saying the words aloud almost hurt, but unfortunately, it really felt like the truth. “If I go and come back with something, we could get rid of it all tonight.”

Ginjima pressed, “And what if you don’t find anything?”

Of course, there was that. Atsumu feared that, it nagged in the back of his mind that going down could be entirely useless. He’d ruin Kita’s trust, get both himself and Osamu punished, and all of this with nothing to show for it. But… “I have to try. I’ll find something, I know I will.”

The portal seemed to get louder in the silence. A gust of wind blew in the clearing, rustling both their clothes as they stood. Atsumu’s gaze was determined, almost challenging Ginjima to stop him now. Ginjima lifted his head, studying Atsumu through narrowed eyes, “How sure are you about all this?”

“As sure as ever,” Atsumu said back.

The wind stopped, and a sound of bird call filtered above. Ginjima didn’t move as he said, “You know, you owe me  _ big _ time for this one, Atsumu.”

Atsumu’s breath caught in his throat, his eyebrows lifting, “Are you for real?”

“If you come back empty handed, I’ll be the first to smack you,” almost reluctantly, Ginjima moved to the side. He gestured to the portal, grimacing at himself, “Just go before Aran or Akagi get here. Don’t screw it up.”

“I didn’t know you trusted me like that, Gin,” Atsumu smiled lightly at him.

He frowned, but his eyes softened, “I don’t. But you always seem to pull it off in the end.”

It never occurred to Atsumu what Ginjima thought of him, but him moving aside for Atsumu to continue on must’ve meant something positive. Dropping his hand quickly, Ginjima growled, “Don’t just stand there with stars in yer eyes, get your ass in there.”

“Thank you so much,” Atsumu nodded to him. He added on with a smirk, “I’ll be back before you know it. Just tell ‘em I outran you.”

Ginjima rolled his eyes, “That’s definitely plausible.”

Atsumu turned to the portal, trying to look through the darkness to find anything visible. There was nothing, though - just an endless expanse of black from where he stood. And just like that, the moment he had been waiting for this whole time was upon him. His mind zipped with excitement at seeing Sakusa again, but he scolded himself to remember he was doing this for the Guild. It had been centuries since he used this portal last, and he was not a fan of what followed. Sucking in a breath, Atsumu looked at Ginjima one more time before walking into it, allowing the emptiness to swallow him whole. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wuss poppin, gamers? Welcome to: Atsumu Overthinks Far Too Much. It's kinda weird going back and reading this because mentally I'm, like, two chapters ahead. It is what it is, though, and honestly I'm excited to be sharing this chapter. I'M SORRY IT'S SO LONG, I couldn't find a proper place to stop so hey hey hey, extra long chapter as a care package for the recent presidential happenings in the lovely (/s) United States. Karasuno decided to make an appearance and I'm actually so glad I managed to fit them in, I'm just as interested in this world as some of you are! Hinata is baby, must protecc ALWAYS.
> 
> ALSO DID YOU GUYS SEE THE SHIT FROM THE FINAL MANGA VOLUME OMG I'M CRYIN- Osamu wearing Atsumu's Olympics jersey and Atsumu wearing an Onigiri Miya hat, pls, spare my heart. SUNA HAS A LITTLE SISTER OHMYFUCKINGGOD I LOVE MR. SUNARIN. Consider my obsession over Haikyuu a tribute to the wonderful, impactful work Furudate created - thank you Furudate for creating such a meaningful masterpiece. Honestly, don't know how I'd be without this series. It sucks to see it come to an end officially, BUT WE GOT THE ANIME STILL and I plan on staying here in until you rip the fandom from my cold, dead claws. Onto another adventure with Furdate-sensei, I hope!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading, have a good day, take your meds if you have them, drink some water, take care of yourself. Until next week, fare well! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **content warning: semi-detailed descriptions of gore**

There came a point, as Atsumu walked into the void-like darkness of the portal between worlds, where if he looked behind him, he couldn’t see the entrance anymore. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, just him and the black expanse.

“ _Fuckin’ weird_ ,” the walls echoed with Atsumu’s voice.

Atsumu jumped, startled. He sighed, his ears following up and down as his own echoey voice said, “Man, I always hate this place.”

“ _Then why’d you go, dumbass? Well, I mean, I know why but… Ugh, is my voice always like this?_ ”

“Shut up… me!”

“ _Fuck, that sounded stupid. ‘Samu’d be gettin’ a kick outta this place._ ”

The pocket between the world of humans and the world of the mystical was as barren as it was overwhelming. In this place, the thoughts and feelings of whoever presided would be reflected back to them. Everywhere you looked was black, even the ground you seemed to stand on looked like it would go on for eternity. There have been a few individuals who have gone mad in this place, specifically the ones with wild and intrusive thinking. Even I don’t know where they went after that. That’s why it was important for one to stay as calm as possible as they walked through; or else they get lost in their own minds.

Atsumu was trying his best to keep calm, but the space wondered aloud where he did not, “ _I’m fucked, I’m so fucked. If I get back with nothin’ and Kita finds out I’m actually fucked. What if Kita arrives while I’m gone?_ ”

His heart dropped. “ _If that happens I’m most definitely getting killed. Oh no, oh Kita’d have my ass. He’d hunt me down himself and drag me back and he’d kill me and-_ ”

“Shut the fuck up!” Atsumu yelled, lifting his hands up to his ears. He stopped, trying to take in deep breaths to calm down. _Focus_ , he told himself, and he could hear it repeated back, albeit muffled. _Focus on getting to Sakusa-kun_.

With another breath, he dropped his hands and continued on, though at a faster pace to get it over with. Time outside the pocket moved faster, and if he wanted to be there and back in a reasonable time, he had to hurry. “ _Sakusa-kun_ ,” the void murmured back. “ _Get to Sakusa-kun. Sakusa and his weird ass apartment and his surgical masks. And his dark, dark eyes, and his nice black hair, and his chisled jaw and wait a minute, actually shut the fuck up._

“ _Stop thinkin’ about how pretty he is. We gotta get to him and see what he knows. Oh boy, how am I gonna do that? Ah, doesn’t matter, I’ll figure it out. Sakusa-kun, gotta get there. Kiyoomi-kun. Y’know, for such a stuck up guy, he’s got such a cute name. Kiyoomi. Kiyooooomi. Kiyoooooooomi-kuuuuuuun._ ”

Atsumu felt his cheeks heat up as he shook his head, disappointed in himself, “The hell am I doin’ up there?”

“ _Damn, am I stupid. Well, no, I ain’t stupid. Well… I kinda am._ ”

Rolling his eyes, Atsumu sped up his steps. “ _Man, this was ballsy of me. If I fuck up, it’s over. I mean, it might not be too bad, actually. It’s not the end of the world. Yeah, yeah I’m totally good. Nope, I’m fuckin’ lying to myself. Thank the stars I’m not conscious about my trains of thought, holy shit._

“ _Fuck, I gotta focus. Focus on Kiyoomi. Kiyoomi, Kiyoomi, Kiyoomi. But I mean… He’s pretty, and that’s pure fact. Kiyooooooooomi-kun. He’s a weirdo but phew. What about Omi-kun? Shit, that’s actually cute. Omi-kun. Omi Omi._ ”

“Will this damn exit come any faster?!” he cried, smacking his head a few times.

“ _Okay, maybe I should stop thinking about Omi-kun. What about… Kita-san?_ ”

Atsumu drew in another deep breath, then sighed. “ _Kita… Kita will be so mad with me. So so mad. I almost feel bad but this just has to happen. It has to. He doesn’t trust me with stuff like this. Can I even trust Kita?_ ”

His steps faltered. He looked up, as if he could talk to the walls, “Don’t go there.”

“ _Don’t. Don’t go there. I can trust Kita, I can. That nightmare didn’t mean anythin’, Kita’s still Kita. But… what Suna said about Kita possibly killing Kurosu… No, don’t. Don’t go there. You can trust Kita if no one else. Well, Kita and ‘Samu. Of course we can trust ‘Samu._

“Like ‘Samu trusts you?” It took him a few seconds to realize he said that out loud. His face fell, and his steps slowed. His expression was blank as he continued nonetheless.

“ _'Samu doesn’t trust me. He didn’t trust me enough to talk about whatever thing he has with Suna. He didn’t trust me enough to go with ‘em when they were getting Tendou out. He didn’t trust me enough when I talked about Omi-kun and the humans. He doesn’t trust me._

“ _But he does. He has to. He said himself that even if he’s frustrated with how much I like humans, that he wants to stick by me, make me happy. He just… He has to trust me. But then why would he act like that? Does he just care about me and not trust me? Like I’m a child, with feelings to be spared by the truth? He would never trust me enough to do somethin’ like this. Why in the world is he so damn confusing?_

“ _I just want to protect him. That’s all I want. Even if he doesn’t trust me, even if he hates me after I get back, I’m doing this for him. Because even if he doesn’t trust me, he’d do the same. And even if he wouldn’t, I’d still do it._ ”

Like that single thought activated it, Atsumu saw a flash of white. He looked up, squinting as he adjusted to the light. Beyond him, a hole opened up in front of his path, and from what Atsumu could see, it was the deep blue sky of the evening on Earth. 

“ _Fuck yeah!_ ” he smiled as the void that bore his voice exclaimed.

Atsumu took up running, his heartbeat picking up again. It really was exhilarating, even without the warm energy to ease him into the human world. Without a second thought, he stepped a foot out and let himself fall through the opening. As he fell to the clouds, he turned his body around only to find no trace of the portal, just the endless sky. No matter, though; he had a job to do. He’d find out how to get back eventually.

Using the momentum of gravity on his altered state of being, he burst through the wall of dark clouds that blocked his view of the world below. It was raining over Japan, a drizzle among the gray sky that seemed like it’d get worse as the night continued on. Again, Atsumu didn’t pay any mind to it. Instead he zipped down to the Earth in a flash, remembering exactly the neighborhood he found Sakusa in last time, locating it with ease for he thought it over again and again since his visit. He stood in the middle of the apartment buildings as the rain trickled and clanked on the roofs, clicking his tongue. The place was almost deafening with twinkles and bells from the wishes he and Osamu had left unanswered for two days now, but he had to ignore them in his current duty.

“Where were ya, pretty boy,” he muttered, scanning the apartments with slight urgency. 

His memory was keener than he gave himself credit for; he leaped over the building behind him and flew immediately to the top row of doors. He hummed to himself as he stuck his head in each apartment, one by one, “Nope, nope, nope, oh your dinner’s smelling pretty good.”

It wasn’t until he was slapped with the sterile sourness of cleaning supplies that he had found the right one. He was more excited than he’d ever admit to himself, singing, “Gotcha!”

Stepping in quickly, Atsumu glanced around the apartment. The seating area, the table in the far corner, and the kitchen were all barren. “Omi-kun?” Atsumu called as he sauntered in.

It didn’t matter, though Atsumu did have to stifle his disappointment. He went straight to Sakusa’s room, phasing through walls to get where he needed to be. All the information he needed would most likely be on a computer of some sort, he assumed. Though, as he moved to enter the door at the end of the hallway, he jumped back when it swung open. Sakusa lifted his cell to his ear, seeming to have just picked up the call, “Hello?”

Atsumu moved aside as Sakusa closed the door behind him, walking back to the main room. He could hear the person on the other end, a man with a gruff voice, “Do you want to tell me what happened to Ita-Corp?”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Sakusa responded coolly. Atsumu’s gaze flicked back to the bedroom, but his curiosity was getting the best of him. He followed Sakusa as he continued, “Is there something I don’t already know?”

“Kiyoomi, this job was the only thing you had,” the man was clearly angry. Sakusa rolled his eyes, leaning against the back of his couch as he glared at the floor.

He scoffed, “What did you really call me for, to bully me?”

“I don’t bully you, son, I just want to know what happened.”

Atsumu’s eyebrows raised as he pieced together what was happening. Sakusa really did get fired. He got closer to him, frowning. Sakusa was now looking at the ceiling, and Atsumu noticed his leg bouncing uncomfortably. He finally said, “Technically it’s classified information.”

“Kiyoomi-”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“Goddammit, Kiyoomi!” Sakusa flinched away from his phone, even Atsumu was startled. “Why the hell didn’t they take you up on your case? Did they think you failed?”

“I didn’t fail,” he growled, his temper heating up. “They didn’t… Jesus Christ, there was no evidence. Nothing solid could be tested or proved. That’s all that happened, and I took it too far.”

The man on the other end, Sakusa’s father it seemed, was silent. Sakusa’s gaze was impatient, looking this way and that with clear frustration. His father said, a bit gentler than before, “I told you, you should’ve dropped it-”

“Oh, don’t play that fucking ‘I told you so’ game with me,” Sakusa stood suddenly, pacing to the wall. “It doesn’t matter what I should’ve done anymore.”

His father sounded like he was getting angrier as well, “You just lost your job because you couldn’t-”

“Because I couldn’t what?” Sakusa paused mid step. His jaw was set, but not in a furious way. There was something more behind his pained eyes, “What couldn’t I do? I couldn’t move on like everyone else did, is that right?”

“I just don’t understand why you had to do this for her.”

“I didn’t do this for _her_ ,” he said, his voice even and incredibly sharp. “She never did anything for me, ever. I did this because I wanted to make sure she earned her place in Hell.”

His father was appalled, “Kiyoomi, what the fuck are you saying?”

Sakusa went still, raising his head, “I don’t have to explain.”

Atsumu quirked an eyebrow, intrigue piquing with every word spoken. So, he discovered, the object of Sakusa’s studies was related to him somehow? He watched him carefully, smiling almost in apology, “Omi-kun, you just get more and more interesting.”

Sakusa’s father finally spoke again, “Well, I hope you achieved that.” Sakusa didn’t respond, and in a way, he didn’t have to. His tense shoulders and weary glare were meaningful enough. “I hope you feel like you’ve won.”

Alas, Sakusa had nothing more to say. His father’s voice was low, ”Goodbye, son.”

He hung up without a word. Atsumu watched steadily, how Sakusa’s arm fell to his side limply as he stared at the floor. Sakusa only stood there, either a billion thoughts running through his head or simply nothing at all. There came a point when Atsumu couldn’t look any longer - even he felt the weight of the silence that followed a conversation like that. Through the window behind him, Atsumu watched the pattering of rain as the land was washed gray and dismal. Neither he nor Sakusa were unlike the world outside.

Atsumu turned back to Sakusa’s bedroom, lightly floating through the house less urgently than before. He was met with the same room where he first met Sakusa, though this time instead of the perfectly made bed, the blankets were crumbled and bunched unceremoniously. Atsumu blinked at it for a few seconds, but soon got to work again. He moved to the desktop computer that sat on his desk in silence. Staring at the black screen, he suddenly realized he didn’t know exactly how to access information through it.

“Shit,” he whispered. He tried clicking the mouse, but in his odd state of suspended reality, nothing he did to it would turn it on. He poked the monitor screen and the keyboard impatiently, “Oh you have to be kiddin’ me.”

A seed of panic blossomed in his stomach. He continued pressing and prodding the computer, picking it up and turning it around in his hands. The realization that he was technologically illiterate was not new, but he must have underestimated the difficulty of its operation. Atsumu finally found a power button on the monitor, leaving him to celebrate the small success as it flashed to life. He sat on Sakusa’s chair as he waited patiently for it to boot up. He glanced at the wall above the desk, observing the degrees and certifications that all bore the name Sakusa Kiyoomi. With a light frown, he turned back to where he left Sakusa in the main room, but when the computer stirred with a gentle hum, he had no choice but to refocus.

The time was 21:47, later than Atsumu anticipated but he would have to make it work. For the first time ever, he cursed the sporadic varying of time between the two worlds. It was most likely how long he took in the portal - consistent time is non-existent in that place. He hesitated at the lockscreen for a heartbeat before clicking the spacebar, jumping as the screen flashed again. Before him laid a dreaded prompt - he needed a password into the computer. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” he hissed, reaching his hands to his face. The worry set in quicker than he expected, “Shit, this isn’t good.”

Before he had time to dwell on it, there was a rapid burst of steps that sounded from the other room. Atsumu listened to the rustling of fabric and the tapping of shoes against the floor for a heartbeat. He lifted himself from his place by the desk and quickly travelled to the front room, where Sakusa was pulling on a jacket and his shoes in a hurry. When Sakusa exited through his front door, Atsumu immediately felt he was more than inclined to follow him to wherever he went. He figured this would give him answers he needed.

Just as he did that first meeting that felt like lifetimes ago, Atsumu sat patiently in the passenger seat as Sakusa rushed down the steps of the apartment, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head promptly. When he opened the door of his car to get in, Atsumu noticed he was back to his blank, mildly irritated expression that always seemed to grace his features. He asked as Sakusa pulled away and began his journey, “Just what are ya up to, hm?”

Almost like he was answering, Sakusa pulled out his phone and pressed a few buttons. Atsumu almost felt resentment towards the technology in his hand now, turning his nose up at the sight of it. His phone didn’t ring for long when a familiar voice picked up, “Hello? Sakusa, what’s-”

“Komori,” Sakusa spoke quickly. “Are you still at the lab?”

Komori hesitated momentarily before saying, “Yes? I was just about to leave, what’s happening?”

Taking in a deep breath, Sakusa said, “Look, I need you to let me through the gates.”

“Wha-”

“I need to find the papers I left at my desk, and they probably took clearance off of my card.” Atsumu smiled, a hint of relief peeking through. Perhaps this really could be his opportunity to find out more. “I need you to get me through.”

Komori sounded shocked, “But I don’t know how to do that, I can’t just open it for you.”

Sakusa tilted his head ever so slightly, “I need these papers, and I need to pick up the laptop too. I don’t know if I’ll have time to get them back after today and-”

“I’ll get them for you,” Komori offered, a more serious tone upon his voice. “Just meet me outside the main part of the building.”

Hesitating, Sakusa blinked at his phone. “You’re not going to ask me why?”

“I don’t need to ask you why,” he sounded like he shrugged. “I trust you, even if maybe I shouldn’t sometimes. I want to find out what really happened to her too.” Sakusa didn’t have anything to say to that, in fact he seemed at a loss for words as his lips pulled into a line. Komori continued, “I’ll get everything on your desk, they haven’t even touched your office since you left. I haven’t been sure why Takashi-san is holding out, but either way I’ll get it for you. Are you on your way right now?”

“Yeah,” Sakusa affirmed, returning to his incredibly blunt demeanor. “About ten minutes out.”

Komori sounded confident now, “That’s just enough time. I’ll be outside the building when you get here.”

“Okay.”

Atsumu leaned toward him, chanting softly, “Please say thank you, please say thank you, pleaaaaase…”

“Thank you, Komori.”

Atsumu clapped his hands, whooping in delight. Komori chuckled a bit, “No problem.”

In the time it took to make it to Ita-Corp, Atsumu had no extra commentary or excessive jokes to make. Instead he was silent, trying to push away the anxiety that had cropped up. His mind was racing; was Kita back already? What about Osamu and Suna, had they returned from walking Tendou out and were entering through the portal themselves to drag him back? What would happen if he was caught before he could get even an ounce of information? Every few seconds he’d look at Sakusa, trying to remember what he was there for. He was there to protect Osamu and his family - he had to believe he would be able to pull this off. Even Ginjima had faith in him to manage to get something done. So there he sat in the car, leaving himself weightless as he was pulled along with Sakusa at his side. It was almost nice to just take in the moment while the rain pattered routinely on the windows.

Instead of going the back way to the gates of the employee-only part of the lab, Sakusa entered through what seemed like an area open to the public. He pulled along the sidewalk directly in front of the entrance, and he didn’t even have to leave his car since he was approached immediately by a man with chesnut brown hair and a heavy raincoat despite only a drizzle outside. He was holding a box, a top securely shielding the contents. Atsumu figured this was Komori, as Sakusa rolled down his window, saying, “Hey.”

Komori stood a few steps away from the car, smiling, “Aw man, it feels like I haven’t seen you in years!”

“I’ve been gone for two days.”

“Hey, that’s too long for me not to see my favorite cousin.”

Sakusa rolled his eyes, “Did you have any trouble?”

Lifting the box a bit, Komori shook his head, “Nope, nobody ran into me. I got everything right here. I almost forgot how empty your desk space was.”

“Not like I have any desire to decorate,” he said blankly. He moved to unlock his car, “Just put it in the backseat.”

Atsumu watched curiously as Komori opened up the door, placing the box neatly on the seat. After he closed the door and pulled away, Komori looked at Sakusa almost worriedly, “Um, are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Sakusa portrayed no emotion. 

Atsumu breathed a laugh through his nose, “Yeah, that’s not true.”

Komori crossed his arms, squinting at him through the dark, “Look, I’m not going to ask why, but… try not to end up in, y’know, prison. I believe in you, but I also know you tend to…”

“Take things too far?”

Bunching his lips to the side, Komori nodded. Sakusa turned his head away, looking straight ahead, “I told you, I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about me, focus on your own job.”

Sighing a bit, Komori nodded again slowly, “Okay, if you say so. Take care of yourself, please.”

“I will.”

And without another word, Sakusa rolled up his window and drove away. Atsumu tapped his chin, “Oh, you’re a bad liar, Omi-kun. But, can’t say I blame ya.”

While Sakusa managed his way out of the parking lot and back onto the street to head home again, Atsumu decided to take the opportunity to phase into the backseat. Finally, an object he can manipulate that didn’t require a password. To any human passerby, any interaction he had with objects wouldn’t be seen - it was almost like he was manipulating the environment without really making an effect on it.

He sifted through the box, picking up a small succulent and observing it for a fleeting moment before putting it aside. He grabbed a manila folder labelled “No. 237”, flipping open the front of it eagerly. He was immediately met with clinical-looking papers, leaving Atsumu to skim through it in search of anything he could understand. It wasn’t until flipping a few pages over did he find a police report. Atsumu’s heart racketed in his chest as he began reading.

The case was simply titled “Kumoto Incident”. On the night of July 16, roughly three months before, a woman named Kumoto Takara, age 56, was savagely murdered by an unknown source. She was found in an alleyway by a bar, the left side of her torso suffered a large chunk of her body being ripped out. Her face was also marked with slashes, ripping up skin horizontal to her eyes. What had killed her seemed to be the bite taken out of her throat, specifically the jugular, cutting her life short. Atsumu couldn’t help but shudder as he read the description. It continued on, saying that there were two witnesses - a man who was previously passed out in the alley that was awoken by her screams and another who came rushing from the main street after hearing the commotion. On-site officers confirmed the attacks were very animal-like, especially the scratches on her face, which looked like claws. The witnesses were taken in for interrogation and were the only leads on suspects as of the creation of the report.

Atsumu didn’t know what to do with this information. He flipped to the page over, wincing when he saw the pictures taken of the victim’s body. Just as the report said, there was a bloody wound on her side, what seemed to be as large as a baseball. Of course there were bruises and various scratches across her skin, but what seemed to be the worst part of it was the neck up. The base of the human’s head was mutilated - muscle and skin ripped apart that was far from any saving. Her cheeks were completely torn, and as stated in the report, the claws seemed to have dragged horizontally underneath her eyes. It was brutal, and what made Atsumu sick to his stomach was that there were seven other cases just like this.

As he was overlooking the accounts from the two witnesses, Atsumu was thrown left as Sakusa jerked his car. The box slipped right through his body to the other side of the backseat, and in the process the items he had pulled out disappeared in Atsumu’s grasp and returned to their actual position inside the box. Once Sakusa had straightened out his vehicle, Atsumu leaned forward to the front seat, shouting, “Hey, what was that for?!”

Atsumu looked out the windshield, analyzing the surroundings for a moment before saying much less harsh, “Wait, this isn’t the way to your home.”

It didn’t take much longer for Sakusa to pull into a parking spot on the side of the road, seeming to reverse and readjust with ease. He pulled on his hood and another surgical mask, and exited without going for the items in the box. Atsumu watched him suspiciously before he phased out of the car. Humming in surprise at just how perfectly Sakusa was able to park between two other vehicles, he was soon following his lead as he marched purposefully down the sidewalk. 

“Where we goin’, Omi-kun?” Atsumu questioned, his eyes searching the environment with wonder and curiosity. “I mean it’s dark, try not to get mugged. Although, that would be pretty funny.”

Barely anybody was out at a time like this, raining no less, but there were still enough to make the city seem lively. People walked by Sakusa and his brooding demeanor, eyeing him warily or being the same as him and staring straight ahead. There were laughs, and car horns, and bustling city noises, and loud talking, and the sound of rain pattering the concrete. Atsumu took in a deep breath, for just a moment forgetting the worry and the pain. There was nothing quite like the energy of a human city, no matter the time of day or where you were. You could lose yourself in all the best ways in a place like this. He smiled as he floated by Sakusa. 

Glancing over, Atsumu watched as the lights of street lamps and storefronts lit up his human’s face, casting shadows and settling on his skin wondrously even if he was glaring as he walked. There was an untimely grace about his features that Atsumu simply couldn’t get enough of - cold and solid but effortlessly beautiful, like carved stone or the beauty of ancient relics. While in this bright city of metal and glass and concrete, Sakusa stood out to Atsumu as a piece of honored history. A Greek statue placed in a modern art museum. If only Atsumu could reach out and touch the curve of his jaw or the bridge of his nose. Perhaps then he could really be sure Sakusa was worthy of his focus among any other human out there. Maybe Osamu was right - this one was different.

Atsumu turned away, a frown now upon his lips. Inside settled an emotion he couldn’t place, a worry or guilt that didn’t feel right. There was a reason he would never be able to touch or speak to Sakusa, he knew. This was one non-negotiable rule of the universe, and oh, was it painful to be reminded of.

What pulled him from his thoughts was when Sakusa finally turned to enter a shop, labelled on the sign as Oni Yako. Atsumu tilted his head curiously but followed in without breaking his pace. The moment the door opened, Atsumu recognized immediately what this place was: a bar.

Atsumu screwed his face up against the sourness of the alcohol smell, hesitantly dipping through the door frame and watching the bar goers as they talked and laughed and yelled and got drunk. Whatever in the world Sakusa was doing here, he wasn’t looking forward to it. “I didn’t take you for the kind to get wasted at a place like this,” he tapped Sakusa’s shoulder.

Sakusa was watchful. He stared out at the various people at the tables, like he was searching for someone. He looked around as he walked slowly to the main bar, tilting his chin a few times to see further. Seeming not to find what he was looking for, he stalked up to the bar and sat in a stool further away from anyone else. He was observing casually at the row of faces seated there, deep thought furrowing his brow. Perhaps he wasn’t here to get wasted.

A bartender approached, her smile lazy and her voice deeper than average, “Hello, sir, what can I get for ya?”

“I’m looking for a friend who usually hangs by here,” he said flatly, his voice a tad muffled through the fabric of his mask. “Has Katsurou Seki been around?”

The bartender shrugged, twisting her thumbs around her belt loops, “I’m not sure. I don’t pay attention to names around here.”

Sakusa huffed a little, reaching for inside his jacket. He pulled out a wallet, before long dropping about 5,000 yen on the counter. “Are you sure?” he asked, slower. His straight face was like the concrete outside.

“Well now that I think about it,” the bartender smirked, eyeing the money. “I may recognize the name, but I just can’t seem to be certain...”

They held an even stare before Sakusa pulled out another thousand yen. She nodded approvingly, slipping it off the counter as she hummed, “Ah, my memory’s coming back to me now. You should find him in the far corner over there, never leaves that spot nowadays.”

Atsumu stood there, his mouth wide open in shock. As Sakusa turned to the area she gestured to, slipping off the barstool quickly, Atsumu watched him walk away for a moment before he followed. “Impressive,” he muttered, picking his way to him. 

Sakusa glanced around the tables in the corner, narrowly dodging a drunkenly animated storyteller as he waved his arms wide. He pulled his shoulders up uncomfortably, and Atsumu could hear him grumble curses to himself. His gaze simply detested everyone and everything he looked at. It wasn’t until his eyes caught the face he was looking for that he sped up his steps to get away from the obnoxious crowd. 

The man in Sakusa’s sights was staring blankly down at the table with a half empty glass in his hand. He sighed as he lifted the drink to his mouth, but when he saw Sakusa making his way to him, he brought it down worriedly. Sakusa approached, saying, “Are you Katsurou Seki?”

“Who’s askin’?” the man eyed him up and down. He was a heavier set man, about mid-thirties, it appeared. Everything about him screamed ‘I hate my job and I hate my wife and I probably spit on gay people’, and if that wasn’t entertainment enough for Atsumu, it was the fact that Sakusa was forced to speak to him.

He sat on the chair opposite from Katsurou, his voice as empty as ever, “Sakusa Kiyoomi. I have some questions for you-”

“Well whatever they are, I ain’t answering,” he spoke loudly, defensive.

Sakusa binked on, unfazed. “Even about the Kumoto woman? The lady who was attacked by an unknown animal?”

Katsurou’s eyes grew wider. He finally took a sip of his drink before barking, “‘Specially not that. I already said what I said to the police ages ago, an’ I don’t particularly… I don’t want to relive that shit. Who the fuck are you, anyway?”

“I’m with the police, actually,” Sakusa said. When Katsurou almost choked on his drink, he leaned back threateningly, “We still haven’t been able to track down who did it, the cases only keep adding up throughout Japan. So why don’t you tell me what you saw again?”

“What’s in it for me, huh? I already talked to ya.”

Sakusa was cold, “You’d rather me call my colleagues?”

Either this man was incredibly stupid or too drunk to comprehend common sense, but he seemed quite believing of Sakusa and his egregious lie. Perhaps Sakusa simply had the aura of a coldblooded police officer to other humans. Atsumu laughed as Katsurou looked down, taking this very seriously. “Look, I was passed out over there,” he began, worry pulling at his features. “But when I woke up, all I heard was screamin’ and growling.”

“Growling?” Sakusa repeated, leaning in. Atsumu raised an eyebrow. The summary of the witness testimonies had mentioned growling, at least from what Atsumu gathered. What was Sakusa getting at?

Katsurou nodded, “Yeah, did I say that before? It’s been a long time, man- er, officer. Whoever it was… well, they were wearing white. I mean that’s, that’s what I think I saw at least.” He brought a hand to his head, “I thought it was an animal, but the police told me later the cuts coulda been from knives.”

Narrowing his eyes, Sakusa said steadily, “We’re reviewing autopsies again as we speak. What if I told you it _was_ an animal, would that make sense to you?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t doubt it,” the man shrugged. “The more I been thinking on it, the more I been figuring it was some crazy coyote or wolf. But I dunno if any of those kinds of animals are around here.”

“You said it was white?”

“That’s what I remember. Big and white is what I saw. I was drunk, man, don’t blame me.”

A shock of dread sliced slowly through Atsumu as he gradually put pieces together. He opened his mouth, blinking between the two. The fox was white. His mind flashed with his nightmare, over and over again it looped with the terrifying image of Kita. Eyes wide, breath caught in his throat, everything around him went quiet for a moment. It was painful on his chest, an unexplainable pit of fear hardening deep within him. He couldn't hear what happened next as his mind raced.

“ _Atsumu, you have my word that I will do everything I can to keep you and Osamu safe. I’d protect you both till my dying breath._ ”

“ _Did Kita really go right home that night?_ ”

“ _It’s a good thing you care so much about family - admirable, even. But hang on tighter than you should, boy, and you’ll realize far too late the shadow doesn’t flow far from the dismal depths of the night. Even the shiny pillars you hold so dear are not as bright as they seem._ ”

His gaze was blurry. “No,” Atsumu whispered, breathless. He blinked back to focus, watching Sakusa lift himself from the table and make his way to the door. He was a bit louder, “No, that can’t be right.”

Sakusa stepped back out into the cold air, the rain absolutely pouring now. As he shivered his way back to his car, Atsumu followed hurriedly, “Omi-kun, you can’t hear me but I need you to find out more right now.”

Of course, Sakusa walked on without a word. Atsumu wasn’t quite speaking to Sakusa now as he lifted his hands to hair, “Fuck, no, that’s not the whole story. No, I can’t leave with that, dammit!”

The journey back to his car was a blur. When Sakusa turned his key in the car engine, the screen flashed awake. The time was 23:07. Atsumu’s eyes widened, and he turned to Sakusa, “I’m gonna need you to speed the fuck up.”

As Sakusa drove home, Atsumu returned frantically to the back seat. He threw open the box, shuffling through the contents in search of anything more, _anything_ that offered any different information. He read more closely through the folder from before, going over the police report and both witness testimonies, zoning in on the pictures of the body. It didn’t make _sense_ , Kita couldn’t have been the one launching the attacks. His heart refused to believe Kita would ever have motivation to do such a thing, but his mind was racing to every possibility. The seed of doubt in his chest had blossomed.

Kita was the only one who could see how the people died, he very well could’ve manipulated the information. Why would Kita forbid Atsumu from leaving? Why would the universe give him a dream like that? Kita was the last one to see Kurosu, and Suna had been keen on that. Atsumu was drowning in the despair of his mind, so much so that any light of possibility was put out by more and more overthinking.

He hastily mumbled aloud the hypothesis that appeared to be from Sakusa, “The patterns at which the attacks were done are telling of a wild animal, in this case, a fox. The markings on the face are too deliberate to be a completely feral animal, clearly the action seems premeditated, but the scratches and destruction of the patient’s jugular vein appears to suggest an inhuman attacker. More research is to be made of the-”

“ _Atsumu._ ”

He froze, his breath going completely still. He whipped his head around, searching for whoever said his name.

“ _Atsumu, I know you hear me_ ,” the familiar voice continued.

“Where-?”

“ _It’s Kita_.”

Atsumu’s gaze flicked to Sakusa, who was entirely ignorant to anything but his world. Breath shaky, he looked back down at the folder in his hands, “Kita-san, I need to ask you something.”

The voice in Atsumu’s head ignored him, “ _You disobeyed me. Get back now, or I’ll come down there myself_.”

“Kita-san, listen-”

“ _I had more faith in you to do what I asked-_ ”

“Kita-san, did you kill Kurosu?”

Kita, from the other side of the veil, projecting his voice through Atsumu’s conscious, went silent. Atsumu closed his eyes, pleading, _praying_ he had an explanation. He refused to believe it was true, he couldn’t bear the thought. But the longer the silence stretched out, the more deflated he was. “Kita-san,” he whispered, “say something.”

There was nothing that followed. His mind had gone silent.

Tears were in his eyes. Atsumu willed the papers away, instead he wrapped his arms around himself. It was 23:16. He had nothing more to do as everything he trusted to be true fell at his feet. First Osamu being so cold and distant to him, choosing to stick with Suna over him, and now this? On top of that, Kita was probably on his way as he sat there to drag him back, or even… 

And yet, he simply couldn’t sit back and take this information. Atsumu was a prime example of one who impulsively jumped to conclusions, but in a case such as this, he needed to prove himself wrong. He so desperately needed to find anything that could suggest Kita didn’t do it, for his own sake. So he stayed with Sakusa, waiting patiently as he made it home.

It was 23:21 by the time they arrived back at Sakusa’s apartment. Atsumu leaped through the car, zipping up to the apartment impatiently. Any second now, he knew, Kita would be down there. As Sakusa gradually made his way up the steps, Atsumu clapped his hands, “Let’s go, man, we gotta get to work, come on now!”

Sakusa simply hanging up his jacket and pulling off his shoes seemed too long. Atsumu paced, rubbing his hands together worriedly. At this point, his mind had gone blank. “I’m running out of time,” he mumbled, impulsively finding the clock again. 23:23.

Placing the box on his coffee table, Sakusa sat on the couch. He pulled off the top, going right to the manilla folder Atsumu now knew every word of, more or less. Atsumu stood behind Sakusa, rereading it over his shoulder before breaking away to pace again.

What was he going to do? He couldn't come back with what felt like nothing, he couldn't come back with claims that it really was Kita all along. But he couldn't stay much longer either. He looked over his shoulder, paranoid. Any moment now, Kita would be coming for him. Angry. Cold. A soulless husk of the man Atsumu thought he knew. And again and again he thought about his nightmare, the image of Kita now burned into his very brain.

23:27. Sakusa finished going through the written parts of the folder. He hesitated as he stared at the pictures, but Atsumu couldn't tell what he was thinking as he did so. 

Finally, Sakusa pulled out his phone. Atsumu chewed at his nails, watching as he pulled up the voice memos app. Sakusa took a deep breath, then pressed record, “Okay, well, I can't be fucked enough to go through and type all this out again. So, I’ll just say it. Uh, day one.” He cringed at himself slightly. Atsumu only stared, finally going still as he observed. “Kumoto was brutally murdered and we still don't know why. After reading over the witness accounts again, I find that they really didn't quite know what attacked her. But, since I talked to Katsurou again today, he told me there was growling along with her screams. Why the police department is so focused on the fact that it must be a rabid dog, I’m not sure, since there would most definitely be barking as well. I plan on visiting the other witness, Shou, tomorrow.”

Atsumu blinked at him, his fox ears less tense and his stance less uptight and panicked. Sakusa sighed a bit, “The more I look, the more it can't just be some psycho or stray dog. I’m not a detective, I’m a pathologist, I know. I’m still firm on my conclusion it’s a fox of some species. Now, I’ve been looking into the other cases over these last weeks… hold on, I have some of them in here.” He shuffled through the box, reaching underneath more files until he pulled out a red folder. Flipping it open, he carefully pulled out a few papers here and there.

“Yashiro Fuku, age 23,” he read aloud. “Found dead in Kanagawa three weeks after Kumoto. Toga Takeyuuta, age 12, found in Kanagawa two weeks after that. Hiroshi Iba, age 37, found in Saitama days ago. I didn't have time to include them in my proposal of further investigation, but these three cases following Kumoto are eerily similar. I still haven't managed to find photos of them to compare… I don't know why Takashi stopped me from collaborating with the doctors. But, here we are.

“The attacks are sporadic and wild. This is more than a one off case of a feral animal or crazy murderer - there are many people dying because of… whatever the fuck this is. It's driving me fucking mad and I just…” His knee was bouncing irritably as he trailed off.

Atsumu was so entranced in Sakusa’s speaking he hadn't checked the time. It was 23:36.

Suddenly, Sakusa stood. “Wait a goddamn minute.”

He marched out the living room, heading down the hallway to his room with slight haste. Atsumu looked at the time again, then over his shoulder, then out the window. Indecision was clear upon his features as he grumbled, following Sakusa in. Sakusa had taken to his computer, opening it with the password easily. Atsumu couldn’t comprehend a single thing among his panic, meaning he had missed what Sakusa’s password was. He paid no mind - there were much more important things to worry about.

Atsumu paced again as Sakusa typed and clicked very quickly. What if he went back willingly, he thought. But no, that couldn’t be right either, he shuddered at the thought of having to walk back through the portal only to be met with Kita, with nine tails, and sharp eyes. What if Osamu was…

He stopped dead in his tracks. Osamu was up there, with Kita. It was 23:39.

“Jesus,” Sakusa said under his breath. Atsumu snapped his gaze to see Sakusa staring at an article of the four new cases that all took place in the Kansai region. “Four in one day, seemed to have been within only a few hours of each other,” Sakusa said to his voice recorder.

As Sakusa searched the article some more, Atsumu looked up at the ceiling. Osamu was still there, with a potential murderer he trusted like Atsumu had. The time flipped to 23:40.

He looked at Sakusa again. “Good luck, Omi-kun,” he whispered, smiling apologetically.

With just a slight hesitation as he looked over Sakusa once more, he rocketed through the ceiling and to the skies. He glanced back, to the twinkling city as it glowed in the night, but as much as he wished he could stay longer, he knew of his duty. He had no choice.

He broke through the wall of dark, nearly thunderous clouds. While his eyes searched for the portal, he was reminded of the image of Kita slicing Osamu’s head - panicked, trapped, screaming for his brother, and then nothing at all in one swift, fatal movement. Atsumu growled in frustration, “Where is it?”

“ _Atsumu, can you hear me?_ ”

Atsumu jumped at the voice. He recognized the bored, flat tone immediately, “Suna?!”

“ _Yeah, it’s me_ ,” Suna had a bit of urgency in his words. “ _Listen, I’m just gonna give it to you straight: you can’t leave the human world now._ ”

“What does that mean?”

“ _Kita… You can’t come back. We have everything under control, but you shouldn’t come back._ ”

Gripping his hands into fists, he asked, “Kita what, what did Kita do?”

Suna sounded reluctant, “ _Kita didn’t do anything - yet, at least._ ”

Atsumu was silent, expecting more information, before asking hurriedly, “Right, why the fuck can’t I come back?”

“ _There’s not any time to explain-_ ”

“Bullshit, I have twenty minutes. Suna, what’s happening?”

“ _Fuck, Atsumu, can’t you just take direction for five seconds-_ ”

“My brother is still up there, you dick!” Atsumu felt his fear be replaced with anger. “I need to protect him, that’s why I’m here in the first place.”

Suna hesitated, letting the words sit. “ _You need to protect him, huh?_ ” he said, cold.

Atsumu blinked. “What?”

“ _You know, Atsumu,_ ” Suna’s voice was empty, in a heartbeat going from slightly concerned to judgefully empty, “ _you constantly preach this idea of family ties and protection but you don’t care about anyone else, you never have._ ”

“Suna…” Atsumu breathed out. He frowned, looking to the side.

Suna was angry underneath the icy tone, “ _Osamu loves you, asshole. But you’re too pathetic to actually care about him. Protect him, sure, but have you ever once listened to what he has to say?_ ” Atsumu couldn’t respond, he was reeling from the smack of Suna’s words. Regardless, Suna continued, “ _Don’t come back, Atsumu. If you really wanna protect your brother, stay away._ ”

Atsumu’s stare was blank. He looked down, at the expanse of dark clouds as they flashed, lightning striking the ground of Earth. Fleeting, bright, and promising of the eventual roll of thunder. He looked up, at the stars as they distantly burned with fire, saying, “You know nothing, Suna. You think you love Osamu more than I do, but you’re dead wrong.”

But Suna never responded. There was only silence as his words hung in the air, with none to listen any longer. And finally, the boom of thunder below him.

He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. His mind reached for the portal, for the world he called his home, for Osamu. There he asked, sent into the universe his request to return. As much as they stung, Suna’s words didn’t bury themselves as deep as one may think. He didn’t care. Osamu said himself he wanted to stick by Atsumu - that was all he needed. He had to believe that when he arrived, he’d still have his brother. But doubt disguised itself very well.

When he opened his eyes again, there in front of him stood a pitch black opening into the place between realms. He entered confidently, his gaze sharp and calculating.

The moment he stepped in, the place echoed with his thoughts, “ _Get to Osamu._ ”

As he marched in, he wasn’t riddled with worry or indecision as he was on his way there. For a reason unknown to him, he was calm and focused.

He didn’t walk too far, though. “Hey,” a voice sounded behind him before he could even walk five steps, “what are you doin’, ‘Tsumu?”

Atsumu whipped around at the nickname. There was nothing but the hole in the floor where he entered. He stared for a few seconds, confused. When he looked back again, he yelped as his collar was grabbed, pulling on his neck. His hands flung to the arm that held him as he opened his eyes.

He was speechless for a heartbeat. “Wha… ‘Samu?”

Osamu glared at him, his eyes piercing. The walls didn’t speak his thoughts. He pushed Atsumu back, making his feet give out from under him.

Atsumu scrambled to push in retaliation, yelling, “‘Samu, what the fuck are ya doing?!”

“Don’t call me ‘Samu.”

Atsumu froze. He looked up at him, “What?”

Without a response, Osamu continued to push him to the hole. Atsumu finally got a foothold, leaning forward as he pulled at Osamu’s hands. But his grip was strong, and to reinforce it, he brought both hands to pushing Atsumu out. The walls screamed in his voice, “ _What in the stars is happening?!_ ” The calm feeling he experienced as he entered the portal was wiped away in an instant.

Osamu growled, leaning a bit to kick Atsumu’s legs out again. Atsumu fell with a yelp, leaving Osamu to throw him onto the ground forcefully. His breath catching in his throat, Atsumu felt the wind from the human world rustling his hair. He continued to pull and scratch at Osamu’s fists, “Hey, hey what’re you doing? ‘Samu, listen, I dunno what-”

“Don’t call me that, dammit!” Osamu shouted. He frowned down at his brother, digging his knee into Atsumu’s gut. He winced in pain as Osamu continued, “You should’ve listened to Suna, you idiot.”

Gaze wild, Atsumu felt himself getting slid out the portal. His breath quickened, “What’s… what are you doing? Was… why are you doin’ this, hold on stop-” Osamu brought his knee down again, cutting Atsumu off sharply.

Atsumu searched Osamu’s face frantically - but his expression was shadowed over. Only his eyes shined as he leaned in, growling threateningly, “Just stay away, you narcissistic bastard! I don’t want to see ya ever again.”

Unlike Suna’s words, which hit him like a slap in the face, this was a punch to the chest. Atsumu’s heart stopped, a cold feeling shivered through him. Where he was breathless, the void around them said in his place, weak and appalled, “ _Do you actually think I don’t care about you?_ ”

Osamu lifted his chin, glaring down at Atsumu like he was nothing to him. He was quieter, and like a dagger, his words sliced into Atsumu’s heart, “Stay out of our way… Atsumu.”

With the pure strength Osamu wielded, in just a moment, he was pushed out of the portal. Atsumu’s gaze had gone blurry, and all he watched as he fell once more to the Earth below was the ever retreating portal that blended in with the night sky. He didn’t have the energy to move - he was lifeless as he dipped through the thundering clouds.

When he was in the midst of the clouds, though, it was much like his brain snapped to realization of what was happening. He caught himself, standing in the expanse of gray around him as the rain fell. He didn’t have the capacity to think about much. As he looked around himself, reeling from what went on seconds before, he was struck with the urgency to get out of the sky _now_.

He blinked down, then zipped through the air back to the only place he felt he had left. He was slower though, and it took him some time to travel down to the city, to the residential areas, to the apartment neighborhood. The effects were already taking place. Even that small time in the portal was too long.

Moving to the apartment he had now ingrained in his mind, he was numb. The cleaning products didn’t slap him like they always did. His mind was racing erratically and there was an intense dizziness. A few steps into the main room, his eyes finally reached the clock. It took him a second to decipher it amid his disarray.

23:59.

Atsumu stared at that clock. Everything seemed to be plunged in an expanse of ice water. Like wading through a deep ocean, he couldn’t think of anything. The numbers burned into his eyes and all he could hear was the thumping of his heartbeat. He was pulled through a state of pure, utter fear as he slowly realized what was going to happen. There was nothing more he could do.

00:00.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working on fanfiction when I should be doing my work for school? It's more likely than you think.
> 
> If you happened to have read my little fic "the pieces of sakusa kiyoomi", some of the metaphor I use in that city scene should sound familiar lmaoooo. Anyway, hey hey hey it's time for ~drama~ uwuwu. Ugh AO3's gonna do that frustrating thing with the extra spaces after italics it always does, it'll take so long to go through and fix them aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
> 
> Gonna be real, my fams, I'm not the proudest of this chapter, but I hope I can make it up to everyone next week! It'll be a banger. ANYWAY THANK YOU FOR READING, HAVE A GOOD DAY, DRINK SOME WATER, EAT SOME FOOD, TAKE YOUR MEDS IF YOU HAVE THEM, AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!! ILY!!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

When Atsumu woke up in the golden forest, he wasn’t afraid. He blinked open his eyes against the light, taking a few seconds to sit up and look around. The trees were dark but the air seemed tinted with yellow and deep orange. He sniffed, smelling all the smells of this bountiful forest.

Next to him slept who he immediately recognized as his brother - he didn’t know why he knew that, but he didn’t need to know why. He leaned over, pushing his shoulder, “Hey. Wake up.”

Osamu’s face scrunched up as he curled around himself tighter. He lifted a hand to swipe at Atsumu, grumbling in response. Atsumu growled, using both hands to push him harder, “Get up, brother! Osamu, hey!”

“Stop it!” Osamu’s eyes slid open as he glared back. He turned his body around promptly, his back facing his brother as he said, “Lemme sleep a little longer, ‘kay?”

“Ugh!” rolling his eyes, Atsumu turned away with a frown. “Why’re you so lazy?”

Osamu sniffed, letting his tail swish a bit, “I just wanna sleep, shut up.”

Atsumu sighed through his nose, turning to look back at the forest again. He sat like that for a moment before his ears flicked at the sound of rustling. Eyes widening a bit, he shoved Osamu’s back, “Hey-”

“Thought I said to leave me alone!” Osamu fought back, lifting himself up.

“Shut up, there’s something there!”

Blinking, Osamu lowered his voice, “There’s what?”

Not giving him an answer, Atsumu stood, sniffing the air in the direction the shuffling came from. There was definitely someone there, the air was tinged with the aroma of someone like Osamu and himself. His back arched a bit as he snuck towards the underbrush, his heartbeat picking up in his chest.

From the brush appeared someone much taller than them, and in response, Atsumu yelped in surprise. He scrambled back to Osamu, grabbing his shoulders and hiding himself from the person using his brother as a shield. A serene voice sounded, “Good morning, you two.”

Atsumu peeked his head up. Before them stood a young man, with light gray, almost white hair with black on the ends. He had ears and a tail like both the twins, and he had calmly wrapped his hands in front of him under his long tan robes. While he didn’t smile, he still had an air about him that was comforting to Atsumu.

Osamu said, “Who are you?”

“My name is Kita,” he bowed his head. “Please, do not be afraid.”

Osamu laughed a bit. Atsumu groaned, standing up straighter, “I’m not afraid, ya just spooked me. A little warnin’ woulda been pretty nice, Kiba.”

“It’s Kita, moron,” Osamu shoved him with his elbow.

Atsumu shoved back, “That’s what I said.”

“No you didn’t.”

“Yes I did!”

Kita interrupted, tilting his head, “You’re… not afraid?”

Both twins blinked at him curiously. Atsumu smiled warily, “Not afraid, only really hungry.” Osamu nodded solemnly in agreement, placing a hand on his stomach.

“Well, then,” Kita lifted a hand, gesturing behind him, “wouldja like to follow me? I can get you some food right away.”

Kita led the two out of the forest, showing them around the Inarizaki land and answering their questions as they went. The quiet breeze that rustled through their robes made Atsumu sneeze, which made Osamu laugh at him, which made Atsumu lunge for him, but Kita kept them apart. It was baffling to Kita why they weren’t scared - everyone who woke up in that forest was afraid, even he was thrown into panic the day he woke up.

As they walked to the Guild Hall, Osamu asked, “Why is it so quiet? Does anyone else live here?”

“Ah, well, everyone in our Guild is at the Inarizaki Hall,” Kita explained as he looked around the rows of empty homes. “We don’t usually get many new members, so everyone who arrives is a part of the main Guild.”

Atsumu bobbed his head side to side as he asked, “Is everyone else just dead?”

“In one way or another, yes.”

The twins looked at each other, concern in their gazes. Atsumu glanced up at Kita, “What does that mean?”

Kita didn’t portray any emotion, as seemed usual for him. “Long ago, the land of Inarizaki was a place of bounty and community. All these houses you see once belonged to the Firsts - the initial spirits who ruled this land, that is. But one day, the first Master named Kumiho turned on the directorate. He believed foxes to be the most powerful animals of the land, therefore Inarizaki should be the rulers of both this land and the human world. He urged to destroy both worlds and pick up the pieces once everyone had submitted to him, all in the name of chaos.”

Osamu seemed to be taking this information very seriously. “Why did he want to be so powerful?”

“Well, I can’t say. He believed existence to be null and void without chaos and destruction. All good only comes from pain and suffering. He wanted to wipe the brand new human race clean and make a world where nobody suffered for the benefit of others, and to do that, he needed to be the most powerful. He believed he was doing a force of good. In a twisted way, he strived for both pure chaos and harmony at once.” Kita looked grim, not meeting the twins eyes, “The other Guilds obviously fought back. Kumiho used every single member in his war, forcing them to fight - nobody would suffer more than the next if  _ everyone  _ fought, he figured. In the end, the other Guilds combined had won to destroy Kumiho, but in the process, most everyone from Inarizaki was murdered. One of the only few survivors was our current Master Kurosu, who you’re both about to meet very soon.”

“Is Kumiho dead?” Atsumu wondered aloud.

“The spirits of the land believe death to be a sacred release,” Kita said. “So they didn’t kill him. Instead, he is bound by the rules of the universe to stay behind the walls, just those mountains over there.” Both twins stopped, looking out over the rich fields to the gray, pristine mountains in the distance, the ones whose peaks were hidden by clouds. Kita explained, “The Guild of Dateko look over those walls, guarding and protecting either side from interference. Kumiho can never die there, but don’t worry. The universe’s law is absolute, so he won’t be able to leave ever again.”

Atsumu wondered what it looked like outside the walls. Osamu looked to Kita, saying in an observant tone, “I kinda like it being so quiet. What about you, Atsumu?”

He shrugged, “Eh. It’s kinda boring, I wish there were more people to talk to.”

Kita turned away, continuing on ahead, “There are more members to talk to at the Hall. Follow me.”

Atsumu’s eyes gleamed, and he said to Osamu as they walked, “Do ya think they’ll be fun?”

“Well, I sure hope so,” Osamu nodded innocently.

“I wonder what they’ll think of my cool claws!” Atsumu jumped in the air, batting at nothing as he giggled playfully.

Osamu frowned at him, lifting an eyebrow, “They all have claws, dummy.”

Pausing mid-step, Atsumu looked up as he rolled that over in his head. “Oh,” he said, tapping his chin, “you’re right.”

Kita laughed from up ahead, pulling the attention of both twins. He turned to them, smiling - actually smiling, which seemed impossible. Kita mused quietly, “Well, you twins are certainly a pair already, aren’t ya?”

For a reason unknown to him, Atsumu felt an indescribable warmth in his chest as he looked at Kita, smiling, the mystical forest illuminating his head from the distance. There was something about the way he looked at them that made him want to smile too. So, grabbing Osamu’s hand and lifting it up, he nodded confidently, “I ain’t never letting him go!”

“Why’s that?” Kita asked, amusement in his eyes.

Atsumu beamed, wide and excited, “‘Cause he’s my brother, that simple!”

\-----

It was a terribly odd feeling. When Atsumu was brought back to consciousness, he could  _ feel _ something was different. It wasn’t one thing he could pinpoint exactly, perhaps it was just the knowledge that he was, indeed, different, but as he brought a hand to his forehead, he knew. Something was awfully wrong about this.

One of the first things he noticed was the empty quietness of the room - all the bells and twinkles of wishes had been snuffed out entirely. He opened his eyes, blinking at the light on the ceiling and shielding his gaze from it. Turning his head this way and that, he slowly began recollecting just where he was. He sat up, still in his robes and traditional jewelry that clanked as he moved. The longer he sat, and the more he realized, the faster his heart beat. He was looking around frantically, and he mumbled to himself, “Oh, oh this actually happened. Oh no, ohhh no.”

A creak of a floorboard and Atsumu snapped his head up. There stood Sakusa, staring at him, wide eyed and tense. Atsumu’s jaw fell open. They were like this, frozen and shocked, until Atsumu let out a yelp. He quickly stood, his legs wobbly as he backed away, “Can… Can you see me?!”

Sakusa blinked, clearly speechless. Though, that didn’t last long, “What the fuck are you doing in my house?”

Atsumu let out a shaky breath, bringing his hands to his face. All over he was trembling, whether it be from fear or relief or panic, he didn’t know. “You can see me,” he whispered, “you can actually see me.” He brought his hands away quickly, his eyes sharpening as he repeated, “Wait, you can actually see me. Oh shit, I’m… I actually-”

“I said,” Sakusa glared, seeming to get over his initial shock quite quickly, “what the fuck are you doing in my house?”

“Ah,” Atsumu took a deep breath, though he still shook with every movement. “I… Shit, how do I explain this? Um, okay, well, I’m Atsumu, the spirit of luck.”

Sakusa stared, his eyes narrowing with every word Atsumu spoke. Atsumu closed his mouth to a line, knowing if he said any more he’d infodump incredible amounts. Sakusa said slowly, inclining his head, “Right. That doesn’t answer my question.”

Nodding slowly, Atsumu muttered, “Yeah, yeah, I know.” He laughed, genuinely on wits end on how to process anything. “Fuck, well, I was hangin’ around here by the time the clock struck midnight and  _ poof _ , I’m… here now. I’m…” he trailed off, his eyes widening, “I’m human.”

“Listen,” Sakusa was still, eyeing Atsumu up and down, “I don’t know how many drugs you took, but I need you to leave before I call the police, so why don’t-”

“No!” Atsumu reached his hands out quickly, making Sakusa jump. He pulled them back, “Uh, no, please. I didn’t take any drugs, you gotta believe me, okay? I mean, c’mon, can’t you see my…”

He trailed off as he patted the top of his head. Once again, his mouth fell open as he gasped, raking his hands frantically over his head, “My ears?!” 

He looked behind him, even turning a bit in search of his tail, but alas there was no sign of his fox-like features. He scrambled to the TV, looking in the reflection at himself. His eyes were wild, his hair ruffled and kinked, but that’s not what concerned him. Indeed, there were no fox ears upon his blonde hair. He pulled his lips back, opening his mouth to see his teeth, and nearly gasped at how unsharpened they had become. Looking back into his eyes, his chest tightened with the ever mounting anxiety that threatened to choke him. Atsumu raised a tentative finger and slowly brought it to the TV screen. His hand didn’t phase through. He turned away, staring off into space as his mind did backflips to try to understand.

When Sakusa shifted, Atsumu snapped back up. He had raised his phone, eyeing Atsumu warily as he dialed in what could only be assumed as the police. Atsumu straightened, “Omi-kun, please don’t do that.”

Sakusa froze, a new tenseness had chilled his features as he asked, “What did you just call me?”

Atsumu swallowed, worry pulsing through his veins - veins of actual, real, human blood, mind you. He said, lifting his hands, “You’re, uh, Sakusa Kiyoomi. You’re some scientist dude, you’re researching the case of the crazy foxes here in Tokyo.” Sakusa’s finger had pulled away from the call button as he took in Atsumu, his emotions locked away. Atsumu smiled, just a bit, “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“How did you find that out?” Sakusa asked, flat and harsh as he always seemed to speak.

Atsumu shrugged, “I told ya, I’m a spirit. I’ve been following you around.” A breathless feeling washed over him again as he looked at Sakusa,  _ really  _ looked at him. He said lightly, “And now you can actually see me. I’m actually talkin’ to ya.”

An uncomfortable, tense silence filled the room as Sakusa studied him, eyes suspicious or angry or whatever in the world Sakusa was feeling. Atsumu could only stare back, taking in every inch of Sakusa that was  _ right in front of him _ . If he didn’t know any better, he’d leap to his side immediately to touch him, make sure this was actually real. But he didn’t, instead he kept his hands close to him as his head involuntarily nodded.

What broke the silence was a loud rumble of hunger that came from Atsumu’s stomach. Atsumu looked down, suddenly feeling a pang as he realized that he was hungry. He sighed, once again swiping a hand over his head to make sure his ears were actually gone, “I know you won’t believe me since you humans are so reliant on what you believe to be true about your world, but please don’t call the police. I’ll get outta yer hair if you really want me to.”

It took a few agonizing seconds for Sakusa to answer, a bit quieter than before, “You sound hungry.”

Atsumu chuckled a bit. “I am,” he nodded. “I’ll find somethin’ though.”

Sakusa’s lips tightened, he looked quite at war within himself as he lowered his phone. He sighed through his nose, looking at the ground, and Atsumu felt a flash of hope in his heart. Sakusa opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of whatever it was, until he finally said, “You know something about the foxes?”

“I do, I swear,” Atsumu nodded, a bit too quickly.

Rolling his eyes, Sakusa took a step back, gesturing to the table in the corner with his head, “Sit down and don’t touch anything.”

Gaping, Atsumu watched Sakusa move away, back down the hallway where his room was. He smiled, before long doing what he was told and made his way to the table. His legs were shaky, stiff - most likely because he has never been in the human world like this before. When he sat down in a chair, Sakusa came back with a mask on his face and plastic gloves on his hands. They made eye contact for a fleeting moment, but Atsumu dipped his head away. The room was silent, save for the quiet noises that came from the kitchen as Sakusa got some food ready.

Atsumu kept shifting in the chair, crossing and then uncrossing his legs, resting an elbow on the table then deciding against it, changing his position more than a few times. Everything was new, it felt too different. He clasped his hands together on his lap, trying his best not to look at Sakusa.

Slowly, as his mind focused on letting Sakusa do what he needed, it began wandering to the events that led up to this. He felt himself deflate as he stared into space, thinking first to Kita, then Suna’s rant as he was trying to get back, and finally to… Clenching his hands together, Atsumu couldn’t help but replay every moment. As he sat by himself at the table, he was simply too exhausted to cry or think or justify or rationalize. Bringing his arms around himself, he shivered. It was so terribly cold.

The microwave beeped, pulling Atsumu’s attention. Sakusa took out the cup promptly, pulling a drawer out to get chopsticks. He made his way to Atsumu, putting the plastic container that read “Cup Noodles” on the table and carefully sliding it over to him. Atsumu sniffed, taking a whiff of the food curiously. Sakusa said, placing the chopsticks down next to it, “This should keep you for the night, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Atsumu said softly. He blinked up at Sakusa as he sat in the chair opposite from him, “Hey, what is this?”

Sakusa’s eyebrows twitched together. “You’ve never had Cup Noodles before?”

Atsumu shook his head, sniffing the air again. Sakusa took a deep breath, leaning back uncomfortably, “It’s fake as hell and clogs up your arteries, but it gets the job done.”

“Fake?”

“Processed,” Sakusa crossed his arms. “Like, in a factory somewhere.”

Atsumu snorted, albeit half-heartedly, “Humans actually eat fake food?”

He didn’t respond. There was a moment of silence before Sakusa gestured with his hand, “Well, go ahead.”

“What do I do?”

“Oh my God,” Sakusa groaned, exasperated. “Eat it.”

“Oh yeah.”

Atsumu picked up the chopsticks, fumbling a bit as he did so. His hands were shaking, it was so incredibly odd to be able to actually, genuinely interact with things. He stared at his hand for a second too long before bringing it to the noodles, poking at them. Mindful of Sakusa’s studying gaze, he felt a bit of pressure as he lifted a few up from the cup. When he brought them to his mouth, he immediately flinched away, “Stars, that’s hot!”

“That’s why you blow on it,” Sakusa muttered. 

“With my mouth, right? Just cool it down?”

Sakusa was incredulous but he didn’t say anything, just affirmed with a nod. Doing just that, Atsumu’s eyes flicked to Sakusa every few seconds, but each time he jerked them away since his gaze was ever so steady. He tried again, putting the noodles in his mouth and slurping them up unceremoniously. Once he finally managed to start chewing, his eyes widened a bit as he ate. He looked at Sakusa, saying through his food, “This is pretty good!”

Closing his eyes, Sakusa sighed, “Are you a child?”

“Huh?”

“You don’t talk with food in your mouth, it’s disgusting.”

“Oh… sorry.”

Atsumu continued to eat, the silence in the home was only piling on the pressure. All Sakusa did was watch, and it frustrated Atsumu that he really didn’t let any emotions through. Much like Kita, Suna, and Osamu - it appeared most every person in Atsumu’s life was a cold and calculating bastard. He entertained the thought he was simply a magnet for those kinds of people. There was just so much of him the universe decided to balance it out with so little of everyone else. Unfortunately for the universe, though, it seemed there was too much Atsumu for anyone’s good. How fitting.

Scarfing down the last of the noodles, Atsumu looked up when Sakusa said, “So who are you, exactly?”

“I toldja,” Atsumu mumbled. He put the cup down, the chopsticks with it, and he finished the last few bites without taking his eyes off Sakusa. He finally said, “I’m Atsumu, y’know, the Miya twins? Yeah, that’s me, the handsome one.”

Sakusa’s eyes narrowed, “Right, okay, and do you know where you came from?”

“‘Kay, so there’s this place that exists concurrent with this world,” Atsumu lifted his hands evenly apart, keeping his fingers flat. He gestured with one, “This is the human world, this is where we are now. Normally, I’m here” - he shook the other hand - “but if spirits stay in the human world past midnight, they get turned into humans too. It’s just the rules of the universe, I guess.”

A few seconds of silence. Sakusa nodded, slowly, and said in a disbelieving tone, “Okay…?”

Atsumu shrugged, “Like I said, I get this might be a lot for yer human brain to understand, I get it. It’s certainly not every day a spirit like me is stupid enough to stay longer than I should, in fact the last time this happened to anyone was… centuries ago.” He looked away, a new expression flickering on his face, “Uh oh…”

“Uh oh?” Sakusa repeated.

“Dammit,” he muttered. “Now the universe is totally gonna be all outta wack.”

Sakusa inclined his head, “And that means…?”

Atsumu sighed, looking up like he was searching for answers there, “Let’s just put it this way, if it starts hailing in the middle of fall, then that’s my fault. There’s a whole balance the universe keeps up and because I fucked it up, there’ll be some weird things happening.”

“I’m sure it can’t get weirder than this,” Sakusa rolled his eyes, pushing his mask further up his nose.

Smiling, Atsumu mused as he leaned back in the chair, “I didn’t know ya had a sense of humor, Omi-kun.”

“I don’t,” he snapped. Sakusa continued, “How do you know who I am?”

Rubbing his face, Atsumu groaned, “Again, already told you, pal. Because I’m a spirit, I’ve been followin’ you around since… a few days ago? I watched you try to write out a wish for me that ended up ‘I don’t believe in luck’ or whatever the fuck, then you went to work and had a meeting with your boss, but I wasn’t able to hear about that since my… since I had to go.” As Atsumu spoke, Sakusa gradually began stiffening up, his eyes rounded in realization. He went on, “Then we took a break for a few days, then I saw you talk to your old man, then go get the shit from your office, then go to that bar and talk to the witness, then-”

“Why the hell were you following me?” Sakusa asked harshly, his voice raising.

Atsumu leaned away, saying, “Because you know something about the crazy foxes.” He smiled a bit, “Yeah, I know that too. And trust me, you’re right - something weird is goin’ on here, even my Guild back home are trying to figure it out.”

Not knowing how to process this information, Sakusa only looked at the table. He was incredibly still, except for his irritable leg as it bounced and shook quickly against the floor. Atsumu offered, a bit gentler, “I may have some ideas on what might be goin’ on. I want to help.” A pause, before he continued, “Why are you letting me stay?”

Sakusa didn’t answer. His eyes met Atsumu’s again, and he looked on edge. The silence between them was thick with tension. When Sakusa pushed out his chair, Atsumu jumped, but he didn’t have time to exclaim as Sakusa said, “I’m going to sleep.”

“Are ya, now?” Atsumu muttered absentmindedly.

“You can stay on the couch,” Sakusa began to walk away before backtracking. He hastily grabbed the plastic cup and chopsticks, informing like a boss to an employee, “I have blankets. My door has a lock on it, so don’t even consider-”

Atsumu raised a hand, “You’re actually letting me stay?”

“Was that not obvious.” It wasn’t said like a question. He moved about his kitchen almost hurriedly.

Inclining his head, Atsumu asked, “So you believe me when I say I’m a spirit?”

“What I believe doesn’t concern you,” Sakusa turned to him, glaring. “I have every right to call the police. You don’t show any signs of narcotic or opioid use, so the next best thing is you’re incredibly mentally ill. In that case, the worst that will happen is I waste my time.”

Nodding slowly, Atsumu let his gaze travel back to his lap, “Right. Understandable.”

There was a hesitant pause. Sakusa finally said, though, “Stay there.”

He turned away promptly, heading down the hallway to retrieve whatever it was he needed. Atsumu looked at the couch - the cheap, probably largely unused couch that he remembered squeaked underneath Sakusa’s weight earlier. Already was he missing the soft bedding from back home as he stood from the chair, less wobbly than before. He didn’t like the way his robes weighed on him or the way the various pieces of jewelry on him clanked as he walked limply. For wanting so desperately to interact with the human world for so very long, this definitely was not the welcome he was expecting.

So caught up in his own mind, he almost didn’t hear Sakusa as he came back from the hallway, mumbling on, “I told you not to move.”

“Oh, uh, sorry, Omi-kun.”

“Sakusa.”

Atsumu pulled his hands away from the couch, saying softly, “Sorry.”

He thought Sakusa’s gaze lingered on him before turning to set the blankets on the couch, but he didn’t have much energy to care. The mechanic, awkward movements from the both of them made time beat on longer than ever, in fact life seemed to move so much slower here in the human world.

“Sakusa-kun,” Atsumu spoke, his voice still quiet.

Sakusa looked at him, silent. Nothing felt real anymore, since Sakusa was  _ looking _ at him. The urge to reach out to him was barely more than he could handle. Staring for only a second longer, though it felt like forever he could stare at him, Atsumu said with the shake of his head, “Never mind.”

“Fine,” Sakusa placed his hands on his hips uncomfortably. “Well… goodnight.”

“Wait, uh,” Atsumu looked at anything except Sakusa’s eyes, “do you happen to have a change of clothes?” With a slight smile, Atsumu lifted his arms to demonstrate the discomfort of the thick fabric and odd jewelry clearly not built for the human world.

Looking incredibly reluctant, Sakusa grumbled with frustrated eyes, “Sure.”

And away Sakusa went again, allowing Atsumu to walk around the other side of the couch to pick up the gray blankets with dull interest. As they tumbled out before him, there was an odd tightness in his chest at how pathetic it felt, how pathetic  _ he _ felt. Closing his eyes, he brought the blankets to his chest weakly. Why was everything so, so slow?

Sakusa returned again, dropping the spare clothes on the corner of the couch without a comment on finding Atsumu nearly hugging the blankets. He continued to eye Atsumu even as he backed up, turning out the lights in the kitchen, “Anything else you need?”

All Atsumu could do was shake his head. He couldn’t tell anything about what Sakusa was thinking underneath the mask. This time, Sakusa didn’t say goodnight, rather hesitated for a moment before retreating back down the hallway. Atsumu watched him go absentmindedly.

It appeared that out of everything that happened since he woke up in Sakusa’s apartment, stripping off his robes was the worst part. His hands shook and his mind hesitated at every movement. By the time they had been removed, along with all the jewelry, his face was hot with empty tears. He sat on the couch for a moment, staring down at the lump of clothing in front of him. Moving to rustle through it, he lifted to sight the belt of his kimono - marked with years upon years of jewels and patches known only to the world beyond the veil. But among the glittery objects, the thing he cared about most was the flat rock sewn into the fabric.

He remembered him and Osamu searching the shore behind the Guild Hall when they were young, finding two pebbles that weren’t special. But then, it was special, since they were both found under a shell in the sand. Atsumu took the circular one and Osamu took the oval-shaped one, together they carved their names into them. They had begged Kita to help them attach them to their clothes, and he did so that night as they wrestled by the fire in his home.

When he looked at the rock now, though, instead of the warmth of the fire that usually melted across his skin as he remembered, there was nothing but the cold ache of loneliness. It stung, it tightened his chest so much so he could barely breathe. He dropped the belt like it was hot coals, letting the silent tears roll down his cheeks pathetically.

Pathetic. He felt so pathetic. He should be angry with him, betrayed. He should want nothing more to do with his brother after a stunt like that. But here he sat. Pathetically clinging to him because he knows of nothing else - because he could be pushed out of that portal a thousand times over and still love his only brother. It was admirable no matter how pathetic it may be.

So he took his pathetic self to pull on the clothes that weren’t his, to turn off the light without much energy at all, to lay down on his back and grip the blankets in an attempt to adjust to this new way of sleeping. He shifted on the small couch, trying to curl around himself like he always used to, but space wouldn’t allow it.  _ Why do humans have to sleep like this _ , he pondered frustratingly as he tried to find a position that worked enough.

Sleep was not a blessing he got easily that night, though he expected as much. His body seemed unwilling to let his mind rest regardless of how exhausted he felt on all levels. All he could do to ease the pain, if only a bit, was mutter so quietly his voice gave out, “Goodnight, ‘Samu.”

…

He awoke the next morning groggy and as empty as ever, though this was a different kind of empty. Instead of stifling sadness that choked his breath, well, the hollow loneliness took the form of the kind of hunger that seems to eat your very own insides. Distantly, Atsumu heard the quiet clamor of someone in the kitchen, but he pulled his blankets up over his head some more. From underneath the mound of blankets, he groaned, long and sorrowful. As the rumble in the kitchen paused, Atsumu felt a soreness on his side.

He shifted, bringing a hand to it, until he started putting more pieces together. Peeking his head out from the cocoon he had made, he looked around only to find himself wrapped up tightly on the ground by the couch. He blinked away the sleep from his eyes, saying in a small voice, “Oh.”

Coming to a sitting position, he yawned and reached his arms out in front of him to stretch. He sat there for a moment before turning at the feeling of eyes on him, and sure enough, from the kitchen stood Sakusa stoically. Atsumu waved a hand, smiling lazily, “Hey there, Omi-kun.”

“Sakusa,” he corrected with a bored expression. He was wearing a mask again, which oddly contrasted the pajamas he stood in. Though, not many outfits at all can go with a surgical mask like that.

Atsumu shrugged, “Same thing, one’s just cuter.”

“Call me that again and I’ll kick you out,” he turned back to whatever he was making on the stove.

“Awwww, that’s a damn shame!”

There was a pause in conversation. Atsumu stood with a grunt, using the couch as support. As he moved away from where he had slept, Sakusa interrupted, “Pick that up.”

“What?”

“Pick up the blankets and put them on the couch,” Sakusa only cast him a slight glance before looking away again.

Atsumu frowned, putting his hands on his hips, “What, no please?”

“This is my house, my rules,” he said. “Not sure how things work in your world, but here, you aren’t some princess. So pick it up.”

If Atsumu had a tail now, it would’ve been flicking crossly. But instead he grinned a bit, turning up his nose in slight banter, “You think I’m pretty enough to be a princess, do ya?”

Sakusa looked at him again, unamused. Atsumu raised his hands innocently, turning back to the couch, “Okayyy, okay, I’m pickin’ it up.”

He did as he was told, piling up the blanket in his arms and dropping it unceremoniously back down again. When he saw his robes still strewn across the floor below him, he almost hesitated before picking them up too. Though for a moment his expression had fallen back to emptiness as he looked at them, he said just as playfully to Sakusa, “Where should I put my clothes, Omi-kun?”

There was no answer. Atsumu turned back to him, tilting his head, “Omi-kun?”

Again, silence. Sakusa didn’t even acknowledge his presence. Atsumu sighed, “Sakusa-kun…?

“Put them on the coffee table,” Sakusa finally responded, still cold and unfeeling.

Rolling his eyes, Atsumu did so with a hesitation he decided to ignore. He crossed the space to the kitchen counter, leaning his arms on the cool surface as he plopped down in a barstool seat. Sakusa didn’t spare him any words, leaving him to look around in wonder as he took in the space before him. Putting his head in his hand, he said casually, “So I’m assuming you’re makin’ breakfast?”

“That’s what we call it, yes,” Sakusa almost snapped. “Hope you like eggs.” He didn’t sound like he hoped for anything at all.

Atsumu brought his gaze to the back of Sakusa curly head, musing, “Can I have more of those Cup Noodle things?”

“Don’t tell me you actually like that shit.”

“It was really good!”

Sakusa only let some air out of his nose in response. Tapping his finger on the counter, Atsumu asked innocently, “Do you always make breakfast like this or am I just special?”

This made Sakusa turn enough to look at his guest disdainfully. He said in a tone that suggested he was deeply frowning underneath his mask, “Is every house intruder as talkative as you or are you just special?”

“I am  _ not _ a house intruder,” Atsumu sat up in defense. He lifted his hand as he explained, “And I’m sooo sorry, boring guy, but I haven’t talked to an actual human… ever. This is a new thing for me.”

Sakusa’s gaze lingered on him a second later before repositioning himself to collect his eggs, “I’ll have you know that most humans don’t like talking extensively in the morning like this.”

“Most humans or just you?”

“Okay then,  _ I _ don’t like talking and this is my house, so how about you shut up?”

Atsumu grinned, slowly, “Oh darling, you can’t use that excuse forever.”

The dishes clanked as Sakusa put the pan down abruptly. He looked at Atsumu again, an eyebrow shooting up, and this time Atsumu could almost feel his quickly declining patience. Sakusa said threateningly low, “I really suggest you take care acting like that in my house. I’ll do just fine throwing you back out on the streets.”

There was something about the way his stare froze him in place that made Atsumu think twice about poking the easily irritable bear further. A shiver ran through him as he met Sakusa’s eyes, prickling his skin. All he could do was nod curtly, “Right.”

Sakusa moved on to separate the eggs onto two plates in silence. There was nothing Atsumu could say that would alleviate the sudden tension, he knew. Well, not sudden - there was an awkward, unspoken chill air about the room ever since Atsumu had been discovered. Though, that could be him being unused to the function and environment of the human world as an actual human. Either way, Atsumu simply leaned back in the barstool, fiddling with the bottom of his borrowed shirt with many a glance in Sakusa’s direction.

He didn't even murmur a thanks when Sakusa stiffly slid his plate of eggs and a fork over the counter. Sakusa stood bone straight on the other side as he ate; Atsumu figured he wouldn't dare take the other seat at the counter. While Atsumu gobbled down his food, Sakusa preferred a more even picking of his plate. They were like this for many moments too long, if you asked Atsumu. His heart beat uncomfortably in his chest as it dragged on and on and on...

Despite the tension, Atsumu still couldn't help but keep his eyes attached to Sakusa - the mask had been removed so he had access to his mouth. Every few seconds he’d look at him, if only briefly.

Though, he wasn't aware of it until Sakusa said flatly, refusing to make eye contact, “Why are you staring at me?”

A flash, and Atsumu was suddenly more interested in the nearly empty meal before him. “I ain't staring,” he mumbled before he could think of anything else.

Sakusa looked exasperated, “Good to know you're an awful liar.”

“Hey, what for?”

“By this point it's gone unasked for too long,” Sakusa put his fork down, his breakfast only half eaten. His expression contorted into something much more serious than before, “I want you to tell me everything you know about the fox attacks.”

Atsumu almost grimaced. He too put his fork on the counter, though he didn't let go of it. He smiled weakly, “You know this’ll all sound nuts to ya, right?”

“That doesn't concern you. What do you know?”

And so he told him. Atsumu told him everything he knew related to the fox attacks; the day they found out, a brief synopsis of the events that took place in the spirit realm like the burning of the Inarizaki Guild Hall, the revelation of Kita as the prime suspect among the confusion. Throughout the telling, Sakusa seemed more and more grim. If I were to guess, it was probably him actually beginning to believe that Atsumu was a spirit from another world. The look plastered on his face, even if the mask had been pulled back up, seemed to say ‘ _ this is actually happening _ ’.

When Atsumu finished, though not without a slight struggle through the explanation of Osamu’s betrayal, Sakusa was in deep thought. The seconds that followed the moment Atsumu closed his mouth seemed to audibly tick. As if the panic from the night before had burned into his mind, Atsumu checked the clock absentmindedly. It was nearly noon. 

“So this Kita,” said Sakusa, mulling it over in his head, “are you sure it was him launching these attacks?”

Atsumu sighed, reluctant. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. Based on logic, that’s what I’ve come to.”

“But what about your brother and the other one?” Sakusa crossed his arms as he deliberated. There was the cloudy sense of discomfort in Atsumu’s chest while he continued, “Why would he push you out of this… portal if there wasn’t something more going on?”

Just a limp shrug was all Atsumu could do, “Are you suggesting ‘Sa- uh, Osamu and Suna are the ones doing this?”

“And trying to pin it on Kita? Yes, I do.”

Atsumu sat up straighter, glaring a bit, “Osamu would never do somethin’ like this.”

“From what it sounds like, he wouldn’t betray his brother either.”

He held his breath, frowning. Deflating once more, he nodded without much effort. Another second or two and an idea popped into his head, a seed of hope that had wriggled in, “What if that wasn’t ‘Samu?”

Sakusa tilted his head, “What do you mean?”

“Well, when we were in that portal, his thoughts weren’t being projected through the walls.” Sakusa looked utterly confused at the words that had come out of his mouth, but Atsumu didn’t stop to explain, “Whoever is doing this could’ve used the same powers they used for the foxes to make an Osamu to fuck with me.”

“Can you be sure?”

“It’s… it’s gotta be that. ‘Samu wouldn’t do this to me, he wants to stick by me,” said Atsumu almost breathlessly. There was an optimism that built up in his chest, a light among the despair he was plagued with for the past hours. Though, whether he consciously decided to ignore it or not, there was still a prickle of doubt in the back of his mind. Even if it wasn't true; it felt better to cloak his reasoning in a possible lie then face the horrific truth of what happened.

Regardless, Sakusa leaned against his refrigerator, and if Atsumu didn’t know it any better, it felt as though he was steeling himself away on instinct. He said, “So basically, you don’t really know who’s doing it?”

“Not for certain, no.”

“Well, that’s incredibly disappointing.”

“How so?”

“It was sarcastic.”

“You’re bad at sarcasm.”

Lifting a hand to his face, Sakusa put a stop to the mindless banter swiftly, saying, “In any case, the fact you don't who’s pulling the strings doesn't concern me now. You figured out Kita may be a part of it all because of real life information, right?”

Oh, how could Atsumu ever forget? “Yeah, what about it?” he lightly pushed his plate away, wiped clean of any food.

“Well, since you seem to know more than I do in certain aspects,” Sakusa’s right leg still shook, ever so slightly as he thought, “then maybe if we find out more, you can narrow down your options.”

Atsumu blinked at him for a moment before a smile lit up his face, growing steadily as he said, “You wanna team up with me?”

Sakusa grimaced, “God no.”

“I dunno, it sounds like you wanna team up.”

He closed his eyes, almost as if he was internally groaning in reluctance. Swiping his hand in the air as if he was brushing the topic away, Sakusa moved to take the plates off the counter, in silence. Atsumu smirked regardless, leaning in as he purred. “Aw, I get it. You don't wanna admit you’re askin’ for my help.”

Sakusa shot him a glance but kept his mouth shut as he cleaned up. Shrugging, Atsumu laughed, “I totally get it, for you it seems it’s not every day you actually need someone's help.”

“There's nothing I can't do that requires I ask for help,” he said gruffly. “I don't need your help, Miya. In fact, you’ve been entirely unhelpful so far.”

Atsumu considered that, staying silent for a moment as he watched Sakusa move around the kitchen in a methodical manner. He finally offered, smiling once more, “You're a logical guy, aren't ya?”

A small sigh. “What are you getting at?”

“All I’m sayin’ is it’s actually quite  _ illogical _ to assume you can do everything by yourself,” Atsumu stood from the chair, stretching his arms out once again. “Even the most independently successful humans get help.”

“I never said I don't get help at all,” Sakusa said as he dried his hands on a paper towel. “I just don't see the need to ask for it. So I won't ask, but if you feel the need to follow me around, it would be illogical of me to refuse.”

Atsumu had wandered to the windows by the front door, peering through the blinds at the snowed out parking lot down below. He watched the snow falling steadily and rapidly on the muted gray land in silence before leaning away, asking, “Sakusa-kun, what’s today?”

“Thursday.”

“No, I mean the date, what’s the month?”

“October 23rd,” Sakusa followed, stepping behind Atsumu suspiciously. “Why do you ask?”

Atsumu gestured outside without turning back, “It’s snowing buckets.”

“Snowing? In the middle of fall?” Sakusa waved Atsumu away as he looked outside, seeing the land coated in the chilly white powder as if it was Christmas Day.

Sighing a bit, Atsumu put his hands on his hips, “See, that's what I mentioned last night. I’m not supposed to be here, and the universe is all outta wack now. At least it's only snowing and not something much worse.”

There was a pause as Sakusa finally tore his gaze away from the unexpected whether, asking flatly, “What else could happen?”

“Hey, I actually don't know, it's been millennia since someone from my world became human. I’m just glad it's not worse than snow. The universe is a fickle system, you know.”

Letting the blinds fall, Sakusa rolled his eyes, “I hate driving in snow.”

“Well you got me along for the ride!” Atsumu smiled sweetly, puffing out his chest.

Sakusa stared at him. It took him a few seconds to say, “You’re not coming with me.”

“Excuse me?!” Turning to watch as Sakusa stalked back to the kitchen area, Atsumu whined after him, “But ya just said you wouldn't stop me if I wanted to follow!”

Sakusa kept walking, heading down the hallway to his bedroom, “That didn't mean I’d give you a free ride. I’m going to track down the other witness of the Kumoto case, so if you want to find a way to follow, you can.”

Atsumu trailed behind him, huffing impatiently, “But I don't have any money for a taxi or bus, and I don't even know where I’m going!”

Stopping in the doorframe, Sakusa turned blankly to the frustration of Atsumu. He said coolly, “Then stay here.”

“But I want to help,” Atsumu crossed his arms. “So what's the harm in giving me a ride?”

“I’m not asking for your help,” Sakusa was unwavering, which almost irked Atsumu further, “so I am under no obligation to assist you either.”

Atsumu huffed again, glaring, “I’m helpin’ you on my own accord. It would be illogical for ya to refuse me from helping, you said it yourself. You’d think that cutting off all ways for me to do so is in a way refusin’ me, right?”

Atsumu was learning - when Sakusa didn't say anything in the face of an argument, that meant he figured it was right and he was struggling to come up with a rebuttal himself. They stared at each other, in the narrow hallway only half a meter away. In an instant, though, Sakusa backed up and shut the door in Atsumu’s face. Glaring at the door, Atsumu exclaimed, “ _ Really _ ? Yer really playin’ that game, huh? Honestly, Sakusa-kun, I thought you were better than that. But no, turns out yer just all petty and uncooperative,  _ stubborn _ , as you humans always seem to be one way or another. To think that I-”

He was cut off as the door opened again, and there stood the silently fuming Sakusa. They kept eye contact for a heartbeat before Sakusa thrust clothes into Atsumu’s chest, looking at him like he was giving his clothing to a filthy wild animal. Sakusa retracted his hands as Atsumu rushed to grab them, saying with a not-so-subtle poison in his voice, “Get changed and figure out something with your hair. I refuse to be associated with you when you look homeless.”

Before Atsumu could even process a single thought, the door slammed again. He hesitated by the door, staring down at the clothes, and muttered under his breath, “Technically… I  _ am _ homeless… Thanks.”

The changing of clothing was not as painful as it was the night before; it didn’t take long for Atsumu to be staring at himself in the mirror clad in Sakusa’s shirt, and pants, and even underwear. As he took in the dapper image of himself - a soft cream colored sweater under a black outer jacket, light coffee brown slacks, dress shoes that seemed a tad too snug - there was a part of him that didn’t recognize the man in the mirror. Gone were the fluffy ears upon his head, gone was the biting sharpness of his eyes and his teeth, gone was the tail that curled in delight whenever he laughed or smiled or teased. Everything about him was now a dull reminder of what he  _ was _ . One look into his own gaze and he could see what he was: a fish out of water. A wild, terrified fox in the busy human city. A mistake. Oh, how bitter was his arrival in the human world he so desperately dreamed of really living in.

He put his hands on either side of the bathroom sink, his breathing almost coming out in pants. Everywhere he looked was just gray or white or beige. This was not the human world he fantasized about nor visited on a daily basis. What was it about this reality that was different than what he dreamed? Where was the color? The energy of the lives around him? Where were the twinkles of hopes and wishes for something greater than themselves? He had that before, but now it was gone. All Atsumu had left as he once more looked at himself, panicked and looking like someone who wasn’t him, was just that: himself. Pathetic and as gray as the world around him.

It was all too much for him now. He nearly burst out of the bathroom door, gasping for breath like he was choked. Letting his thoughts clear and his mind refocus, he let the door close behind him. Feeling eyes on him, Atsumu looked up to see Sakusa, propped against the back of the couch, staring at him impassively underneath his mask. Cracking a wary smile, Atsumu put his hands on his hips, albeit still winded, “Got a fancy tuxedo, do ya? I have a feeling that’s overdressing.”

“It’s not formal, this is work casual,” he bluntly responded. Breezing right past the event that took place before him, Sakusa stood up, “You still haven’t done anything to your hair.”

“What is there to do?” Atsumu clawed a hand back through it. “It don’t look bad.”

Sakusa walked to him with a grimace, “I beg to differ. You look like you’ve been to Hell and back.”

“I might as well have.”

Now standing a mere foot away, Sakusa studied the blonde locks with a general distaste. All Atsumu could do was stay eerily still underneath his gaze, his mind turning off as he stared back into Sakusa’s face, closer than he ever imagined Sakusa would allow. It was a breathless few seconds before Sakusa broke away to the bathroom again. Watching him look for whatever it was, Atsumu realized his progress of getting his heartbeat back to normal was ruined.

Sakusa stepped back out of the bathroom, handing over a clear bottle of something and a comb, “Just use this in the car. Let’s hope you don’t have lice.”

As Sakusa walked back to the front room, Atsumu followed as he examined the items, “How do I use it?”

“Brush your hair, then do the same motion you always seem to do with your hair but with the gel on your hands,” he answered robotically, slipping on his heavy jacket.

Caught up on reading the text on the hair gel he’d been given, it took Atsumu a moment to realize Sakusa was actually leaving. The cold air hit them both after he opened the front door, pulling Atsumu to attention as a shiver ran through him. He walked out with Sakusa, pulling his shoulders in, “Hey, do you have a jacket like that for me?”

“I don’t.”

Atsumu blinked at him as he locked the door, before snapping incredulously, “Excuse me, sir, I’m freezin’ my tail off!” He looked away for a moment, “Figuratively.”

Turning away from the door, Sakusa brushed right past Atsumu as he bit back, “Well that’s what you’re getting by coming with me. It’s not too late to turn back now.”

  
“Sakusa-kun, you dirty little…” Atsumu growled but, alas, followed anyway. While he marched down the stairs after Sakusa with an angry pout on his face and hair products in his hands, he was nearly  _ this _ close to turning back and staying at the apartment. If the rest of his time with Sakusa would be like this… he realized he was bit more over his head than he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why hello again!! It's been a bit, hasn't it? Alas, school has been kicking my ass and I've been so,,, overcritical of my own work. For the longest time I didn't know how to write this introduction into the human world for Atsumu - this was the part I've been most excited for, and yet I was stumped on how to do it right. Well, maybe not "right", but the way I wanted it. I've come up with this, and I hope you enjoyed! All the comments I've been getting during this short hiatus of mine have been so encouraging and made me cry on multiple occasions. I'm so glad I'm able to make something that people enjoy and actively want to read. Thank you!!
> 
> I HOPE YOU ENJOYED, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH ME, AND HAVE A GOOD DAY!! SEE YOU NEXT WEEK (hopefully)!!!


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